POSEIDON
by Jeimii
Summary: A rogue wave slams into the Poseidon whilst Tohru and the gang are on board. The ship is sinking fast and they must make their escape. Not everyone can survive fate, though... TohruxKyo. Full summary inside. Rated for later scenes.
1. Tickets

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter One  
Tickets_

The morning dawned beautifully and brightly, and Tohru did her usual routine about the house. It was a Saturday morning, and Tohru's birthday was only a week away. She would be 19 in less than a week, and she could count the blessings she had received during the past 3 years with the Sohma family.

She was busy hanging out the washing to dry, when Kyo came out and kissed her on the forehead.

"Morning" he yawned, as he stretched widely.

"Good morning," replied Tohru, blushing slightly "Did you have a good's night sleep?"

"Yeah, I guess," replied Kyo, closing his eyes "That damn Shigure snores a lot though, how did you put up with it?"

It had been almost a year since Tohru and Kyo had got together. A year on her birthday, to be exact, and Kyo had moved all of his belongings into her room, which they now shared together.

"We've got a surprise for you later," said Kyo, opening one eye at her.

Tohru looked at him suspiciously.

"A… A surprise? For me?" she replied placing the last item upon the washing line, and carrying the basket under her arm, which Kyo took off of her.

"Well, it _is_ your birthday coming up soon, is it not?" said Kyo, walking back to this house, a hand in the air "A time to celebrate?"

"W-Wait, Kyo!" shouted Tohru after him, and then running to catch up "What do you mean 'a surprise'?"

"Y'know!" said Kyo, looking down at her; she had barely grown in the past year "A surprise? Something unexpected that you enjoy."

"I know what a surprise is, silly" said Tohru, as they entered the lounge of Shigure's house "What is it? A… Um… A new dress?"

"You'll never enjoy it fully if you guess it," said Kyo, going into the kitchen and placing the basket on the side. "Anyway, I'd never tell you even if you _did_ guess right"

"Hey!" said Tohru "No fair!"

Yuki then came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes as he did, his grey hair a mess; he wasn't a morning person.

"Morning, Tohru" he said, waving a hand half-heartedly as he walked over to the fridge.

Kyo grimaced "Finally took to calling her by her real name, now?" he asked, glaring at the Rat, who was covered by the fridge door.

Yuki slammed the fridge door, glaring back at the Cat, but he restrained himself, for Tohru's sake. They were, after all a couple now.  
Yuki just walked out of the room, nothing spoken, not even to Tohru.

As his feet dyed away, Kyo turned back to Tohru "Now, where were we?" he asked, grinning down upon the brown-haired girl, and kissing her forehead.

"Just about to make breakfast" came a familiar voice through the kitchen doorway.

Kyo shuddered slightly and turned to see the face of the person he'd expected to see there; Shigure.

"Why can't we have any peace around here?!" Kyo shouted over at Shigure, who stood there, blinking at him, a blank look upon his face.

"Well, Tohru still is the housekeeper, as you know, Kyo," replied Shigure, resting his body upon the doorframe "And she enjoys making us breakfast, don't you, Tohru?"

Tohru had not given comment to the conversation, as her face was planted upon Kyo's chest, who had held it there the whole time.

"Mph-mmph-miph-meeph" she could only muffle through Kyo's torso.

"Why don't ya let her breathe, there, Kyo?" asked Shigure, still lent upon the door.

Kyo let go of Tohru's head "Now, what was that Tohru?" asked Shigure, a concerned look upon his face.

"I-I think it's great!" replied Tohru, raising a fist in succession.

"Well, chop-chop!" replied Shigure, gesturing a hand from Tohru to the cooker.

"You're so sexist!" shouted Kyo, letting go of Tohru, and pointing a finger at Shigure.

Shigure waved Kyo's finger away, closing his eyes in amusement "Oh, Kyo... So naïve..."

"Naïve?" asked Kyo, pondering at Shigure's words "How am I naïve?!"

"You fail to realise that a woman's place is in the kitchen, serving us men after a long, hard day's work!" said Shigure, a knowing finger in the air as he spoke.

"What?!" shouted Kyo, fuming "That _is_ sexist beyond all measure!!!!"

"Don't knock me and my beliefs, Kyo" said Shigure, leaving the conversation, and the room, so Kyo could give no retort to the comment.

Kyo stood there, frozen in anger.

"It's okay, Kyo" said Tohru, placing his arms by his sides, and rubbing his head "I-I know what you were trying to do, and I appreciate it, but Shigure just likes to twist your arm is all..."

"Bastard..." Kyo muttered under his breath "Anyway, you want any help, or are you okay?"

"Um... I think I'm fine," said Tohru, pondering about the kitchen, and withdrawing breakfast ingredients from the fridge.

"O-Okay, then," said Kyo, and he kissed her on the forehead before leaving the kitchen.

The day seemed to pass by in a glance, as it was already sunset, and everyone was sat down at the dining table, about to tuck into another of Tohru's delicious home-cooked meals. Everyone was helping themselves to Tohru's buffet-style meal when Yuki started the topic at hand.

"Tohru..." he began "We know your birthday is coming up, and well... We wanted to do something extra special for you."

Tohru looked up, startled by this sentence.

"Um... Wait!... No!" she started, but Kyo interrupted.

"_Before_ you begin rejecting the offer, we're giving you this" Kyo said, pushing an envelope towards Tohru.

Tohru looked at it, dumbfounded for a moment, until she took it in one hand, and opened it up. Inside were ten tickets of some sort. She read the print on the top ticket, which read:

_The Poseidon_

"What's the _Poseidon_?" she asked, looking up.

"The _Poseidon_ is a luxurious ocean liner that sails around the globe" said Yuki, helping himself to some salmon.

"A-A-A luxurious ocean liner?" asked Tohru, twitching slightly "But! Wait! These must have cost a lot of money!!! I'm sure you could have spent the money on things more important than _me_!" she shouted, panicking.

Only when Kyo grabbed her to calm her down, did she restrain herself.

"B-But! I-I can't _accept_ this!" she said.

"Well, we can't take them back" said Shigure "They aren't refundable."

"Oh..." replied Tohru, looking once again at the ticket she held in her hand.

"C'mon, you've gotta pack," said Kyo, standing up.

"Why? When are we going?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," replied Kyo, grabbing Tohru's wrist and pulling her up.

Tohru gasped "_Tomorrow_?! I don't have enough time to pack!"

"Sure ya do" said Shigure, passing Yuki his plate, who was taking them away.

Kyo dragged Tohru upstairs, who was still muttering wildly to herself about how she could not possible pack within a matter of hours. Kyo took her to her room, on the bed was a large, empty suitcase, ready for Tohru to begin packing.  
Tohru soon calmed down, and Kyo helped her.

"So, um," Tohru said, folding clothes to pack upon the bed "Who's going?"

"Well, there's me, you, Yuki, Shigure, Haru, Hatori, Ritsu, Ayame and those two friends of yours, Uo and Hana isn't it?"

"Oh, wow, sounds like fun!" said Tohru, happy at the prospect of the trip now "So, how're we getting there?"

"Well, the ship is already docked at the port; it's already about a quarter through its world cruise, hence why we got the tickets at a cheaper rate. But we board tomorrow at 10:00, and the ship leaves at about 7:00pm," said Kyo, trying his best to remember the details "You'll need your passport, so don't forget it."

"Ah, okay then" replied Tohru, going to a drawer and pulling out a box, within which was her passport.

Three hours passed when finally Tohru was ready and packed. She took her suitcase downstairs and placed it with all the others at the foot of the stairs. She passed the lounge when she noticed everyone who was going on the trip was in there. She stepped in, as everyone shouted "Surprise!"

"Wow!" said Tohru, utter surprise on her face "Thank you so much. I never really got to say thank you earlier, but I really am grateful you've done this for me..."

"Forget the speech!" shouted Uo from the back of the group.

The evening passed quickly, as everyone was busy chatting about their exciting new experience and adventure the next day.  
Sleeping arrangements were difficult that night, as everyone stayed over at Shigure's house. Uo, Hana and Tohru were in Tohru's room, whilst Kyo, Haru and Ritsu shared Kyo's old room; Shigure shared with Hatori and Ayame (much to Aya's dismay, as he'd wanted to share with Yuki) and Yuki was on his own, as his room was the smallest.

The morning went by smoothly, as everyone clambered onto a privately hired coach to the docks. The coach pulled up outside the dock gates and the driver helped everyone get their luggage off, before bidding them good day and a safe voyage and driving off.

Tohru looked around "Where is it?" she asked.

"It's a little out to sea, the ship is too big to fit in the docks, so a smaller boat's taking us to it" replied Shigure, reading from a little pamphlet in his hand.

They headed off to a small white ship that read _Poseidon 2_ upon the hull. Everyone guessed that this was the ship that would take them to the _Poseidon_, somewhere out in the ocean.  
The group scanned the horizon, and saw before them a huge (even from the distance they were at) black silhouette, the sun blazing from behind blocked any details of the ship.

A guard by the _Poseidon 2_ asked the group aboard, after seeing their tickets, and within 20 minutes, they set off from the dockside, heading for the _Poseidon_, somewhere half-an-hour away, and Tohru couldn't wait for her cruise vacation to begin.

(A/N: A totally random story I've begun, and quite a long chapter to start it off XD Outcast is currently on hold for me to begin this story fully. However, don't fret as it will begin soon! Check out for the next chapter and the inevitable!)


	2. Boarding

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 10 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and it capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Two  
Boarding_

The _Poseidon_ loomed ever closer, as the _Poseidon 2_ chugged along, bobbing along on the choppy seas.

"We're almost there!" Tohru would shout randomly to the group, many of them suffering from pre-sailing seasickness. She was so happy to be going on a vacation, one which she would share with Kyo; their first vacation together...

She held Kyo's hand, and squeezed it tightly in anticipation as the _Poseidon_ finally came up in full.  
The ship itself was enormous, towering over them, on 15 decks, over 100ft high, the ship let out a mighty blow of its horn, which echoed all around them. Tohru looked towards the bow of the ship, which had '_Poseidon_' on the silky black steel hull. The superstructure was swept back, in an aerodynamic sort of way, enhancing the ships look of luxury. Above the black hull was the first outside deck, which spanned all around the ship, with 11 lifeboats on each side, plenty for all on board. Next came the cabins, which were then one deck above, each one with a private balcony. Above the 5 decks of cabins were the upper-decks, which Tohru couldn't possibly see any sort of detail, as the ship was too tall to see.

Tohru looked over at everyone else, as the _Poseidon 2_ was moored alongside the _Poseidon_, and a solid stairwell was placed down, fitted with its own red carpet. Everyone clambered up out of their seats and stood by the staircase, awaiting entrance to the ship.  
Tohru was about to grab her luggage when an officer came to collect it.

"These will be taken to your room for you, Miss" he said with a smile, taking everyone's cases, labelling them and wheeling them away, out of sight.

"Has everyone got everything?' asked Tohru, looking back at the others.

They all mumbled in agreement, and joined the queue waiting to board the ship. This process took the longest, in which everyone had to be booked onto the ship, and directed towards their own cabins. Tohru glanced from where they were getting onto the ship, and how many decks they had to climb to get to their cabins. She glanced back at everyone else, who seemed to have noticed this as well. Uo and Hana, after this point, stood by Tohru, complaining about how Ritsu had been sick over the side of the boat. Tohru had been so wrapped up in all of her excitement that she had forgotten Uo and Hana had even come with them.

"Are you as excited as I am?!" Tohru asked, a huge, silly grin on her face.

"Of course, Tohru!" replied Uo, hugging Tohru tightly "It's great we were able to come, even if we _did_ have to pay for our own tickets" she added, glaring at Kyo, who only glared back.

"Don't start before we've even gotten _on_ the ship!" said Tohru, slightly pushing Kyo away from Uo.

The line took about 40 minutes before Tohru and the group were at the front. The staircase between both ships did not look strong enough to support a lot of weight, in which everyone gave a simultaneous gulp at the thought of it collapsing under their feet.

"Hello, and welcome to the luxury cruise-liner _Poseidon_" said the guard by the stairs "May I see your tickets, please?"

Then it struck Tohru, had she left the tickets at home?!

"Um... Um...!!!" said Tohru, fumbling around her to find the tickets, when a hand appeared over her shoulder, and gave the guard the tickets.

"There you go, my good man!" replied Shigure, in a very English accent.

"Thank you" replied the guard, checking each of the ten tickets. He called off the names of each person, before tearing part of the ticket off, and handing it to the corresponding member of the group.

"Okay," said the guard "Miss T. Honda and Mr K. Sohma, your room is 12543, which is on deck 12, Miss A. Uotani and Miss S. Hanajima, your room is 12124, which is also on deck 12."

The guard then asked both sets of people up the stairs. The stairs rocked underneath them, creaking slightly with every step they took. At last they reached the main reception of the ship. Upon entering the threshold, the only thing to comment on was the luxury and how far it spread out in front of them.  
A guard stood by the door checked their tickets once more, before adding "If you get lost on the way to your cabin, we have staff upon every floor, to direct you in the right way."

Ten minutes later, the rest of the group entered the threshold, and took in the magnificent sights there was to behold. They then stood to one side, and compared rooms.  
It was turned out that people sharing rooms were: Yuki, Aya, Ha'ri and Shigure (it turned out they had also booked a family room), Uo and Hana, Tohru and Kyo and finally Haru and Ritsu. Much to Yuki's dismay, Aya was delighted ti be sharing a room with him. He couldn't say no, because this is how it had been booked, at least he could avoid Aya.

Another thing that was out of the ordinary was that everyone was staying on different decks. Whilst Kyo, Tohru, Uo and Hana were on deck 12, Haru and Ritsu were on deck 11 and Shigure, Ha'ri, Aya and Yuki were on deck 13.

"No wonder the tickets were cheap," said Shigure, staring at his and Ha'ri's.

Everyone walked to the awaiting lifts on the other side of the reception, and ascended in one. On the way, everyone agreed to meet up in the reception in an hour. Haru and Ritsu left first, on deck 11, then Tohru, Kyo, Uo and Hana left on deck 12, whilst Shigure, Ha'ri, Yuki and Aya went up to deck 13. Tohru walked in hand with Kyo, whilst Uo and Hana walked behind them.

"Wow, this place it so luxurious!" exclaimed Tohru, taking in the panelled wood effect on the walls, and the crystalline chandeliers above them. There were no windows in this corridor, so the artificial lights had to be bright to simulate it.

Uo and Hana barely said goodbye when they headed off from Kyo and Tohru; their room was more to the bow than the stern, where Tohru's and Kyo's was.

Tohru looked at Kyo "They don't seem at all happy for some reason?" then it hit her "Maybe I'm not doing enough as a friend! Maybe I should spend some more time with them!"

"No," replied Kyo, not even looking at Tohru, put at the gold numbers embossed upon the doors "If they want to mope, that's their own problem, Tohru. This is _your_ vacation too; you can't let others ruin it for you."

"But it just seems as though they're being really cold to me" replied Tohru, looking down at the carpet luxurious deep-blue carpet.

"It may seem it, but they could just be seasick?" asked Kyo, reassuring Tohru, with a squeeze of the hand "Ah, here we are," he added, looking at the gold '12543' upon a light brown door.

Kyo opened the door with his key-card, and inside made their jaws drop.  
The room was all white, with a king-sized bed rested upon the wall, with clean, white linen upon it. The carpet was also white and pure. A chandelier hung above them, which lit up the whole room. A portrait of the ship hung above their bed, sailing into a sunset, a picture-perfect moment.  
Opposite to them was a wall full of windows, its curtains lifted in the draft coming through the balcony door. Outside which was a beautiful view of the sea.  
Just beside them on the left was a wardrobe and vanity table, suitable for both of them to put their clothes and other accessories in. On the right was a door, leading to the en-suite, complete with a shower, toilet and sink.  
Upon the bed lay their suitcases.

"Wow..." said Tohru "I never imagined it to be this... Beautiful."

Kyo grabbed Tohru, and pulled her into an embrace, and embrace she accepted and held onto him.

"I'm so glad your curse was broken," she said, muffled slightly in his shoulder, in which he hugged her tighter "Otherwise we couldn't share this..."

Kyo looked at her, and they kissed passionately... Tohru knew this was going to be the best vacation, ever.

(A/N: Okay, yes, everyone's curses have been lifted in this fic (it's based at some point after volum 22 of the manga). Anyway, next chapter will be up soon. After chapter 5 (the proposed capsizing (or I may change it to later on, I dunno yet)), Outcast will begin again, I promise! Anyway, bye and keep reading!)


	3. Rough Seas

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 10 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and it capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Three  
Rough Seas_

Kyo and Tohru embraced for what seemed an eternity, when the cabin door was rapped upon noisily, pulling the lovers apart.

"Who could that be?" asked Tohru, looking over Kyo's shoulder at the wooden door opposite them.

Kyo walked over to the door, looking through the peephole, he turned back to Tohru "It's Uo and Hana."

"Let them in," replied Tohru, pulling the case on the bed closer to her, and opening it.

Tohru heard the noise of the door opening, and Uo and Hana entered the threshold. Tohru turned around to see Uo and Hana approaching her.

"Tohru, there's something wrong with our room," said Uo, folding her arms.

"Huh, what's wrong?" replied Tohru, a quizzical expression upon her face.

"Our room does not appear to be classified within this ship," said Hana spontaneously, her head popping from over Uo's shoulder.

"Huh?" asked Tohru again, the same quizzical expression on her face.

"Basically," said Uo, cutting through the awkward silence that had ripped through the room "Our room doesn't exist!"

"What?" asked Tohru, taking the key-card from Uo's grip, and checking the details, which seemed correct to her.

"I dunno! We followed the rooms around the ship, but ours never came up" Uo replied, moving her hands to her hips as she spoke.

"Um... Well give me and Kyo about 30 minutes to unpack, and we'll all go down to the reception and sort it out."

"Well, where are _we_ supposed to go?" asked Uo, frustration and anger upon her face.

"I don't know," replied Tohru "How about you just check out the ship? And meet us at 1:10 in the reception."

"Urgh, what's the point?!" shouted Uo angrily, raising her arms above her "We're meeting at 1:00 anyway!"

And with that, Uo left, Hana in tow, slamming the door behind them both. Kyo, who had been silent and out-of-the-way up to this point, walked up to Tohru and hugged her.  
Tears welled up in her eyes, how could Uo or Hana be so mad with her? Her best friends... Her first best friends.

"W-What did I do?" she asked, muffled slightly as Kyo squeezed her tighter.

"Nothing," replied Kyo "Just ignore them. You're here to have fun, and if they can't have fun, then let them be."

"But-"

Kyo cut her off with a kiss, and they parted, and Kyo looked into Tohru's big brown eyes with his flaming red ones. He wiped the fallen tears from her cheek, and kissed her forehead gently.

"You leave them to mope," he said softly "This is your vacation too; you need to focus on enjoying yourself, okay?"

"Um... Sure" replied Tohru, asked Kyo grabbed her hand, and lead her to the room's balcony.

The ship wasn't due to leave until 7:00pm, halfway through the dinner courses later in the evening. It was only 12:50 when Tohru and Kyo decided to leave for the reception, which would probably take them 20 minutes at the least. They followed the winding corridors back the way they had come, and eventually found the lifts to reception.

When they arrived, it was flooded with people. They were trying to see what films were being shown in the ship's cinema, or what was on the menu for the evening courses. It was noted that there would be a major feast in the ballroom every night on the cruise. The only real problems that seemed to be happening was the fiasco with Uo and Hana's room.  
Tohru and Kyo were the first to arrive, the time on the wall said it was 1:05. There was no doubt that the others had either gotten lost, or completely forgotten they were meeting up.  
By 1:30, everyone had arrived in the reception, and the reception had emptied considerably. Uo and Hana had gone to the counter to sort out their room situation, which turns out the ship had been overbooked.

10 minutes later, Uo and Hana came back, Uo was enraged.

"This is so STUPID!" she shouted.

"What's wrong?" asked Tohru, who was sat upon a comfortable couch, along with the others.

"What's wrong? What's _wrong_?!" shouted Uo "I'll tell you what's _wrong_! It turns out the ship has been overbooked, and that other people have got our room. This now means we're being deported from the ship!"

"What?!" everyone shouted in unison.

"T-That can't be!" said Tohru, standing up.

"Oh, it _can_, and it _is_!" replied Uo "So, they're sending back that other ship and we're leaving in half an hour!"

"There must be _something_ we can do!" said Tohru, looking at everyone for encouragement. It never came.

"Let's face it, Tohru" said Hana "This trip was never meant for either myself or Arisa. You enjoy your vacation without us."

"But-" replied Tohru.

Hana cut her out "This is something that was meant to be. We are not needed upon this trip. Nor shall we ever."

"Are you sure there's _nothing_ you or we can do?" asked Tohru, he hands together, almost prayer-like.

"Positive," replied Uo "There's not a single cabin left empty. This trip's fully booked. Forget it, Tohru. We'll see you when you come back."

Tohru stood there, tears in her eyes. Her two best friends were not accompanying her on her first ever cruise. They would be leaving in less than twenty minutes, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Forget about us, Tohru," said Hana "We'll see you when you get back. It's only 2 months, right?"

"That's not the point!" replied Tohru "I wanted to experience this trip with everyone I loved, including you two!"

"It doesn't matter," said Uo "You're so sympathetic. Just leave us and enjoy your vacation, we'll be okay, and you'll come back refreshed. I know, we'll make a deal."

"What's that?" asked Tohru, tears falling to her cheeks.

"You take lots of pictures and videos to show us when you get back?" Uo replied with a smile on her face, Hana behind her smiled too.

"Okay!" replied Tohru.

"Oh, look, it's almost time for us to go" said Uo, looking at the clock in the wall "You got your luggage, Hana?"

"Yes," replied Hana, rolling a velvety-black suitcase in front of her "We'd best get ready to go."

Tohru hugged her two best friends one last time. She wouldn't see them for 2 months after this. It was heartbreaking for her, and Uo and Hana were beginning to show it too. The receptionist called Uo and Hana's names and they headed to the door.

"Goodbye, Tohru" they said in unison, as Tohru hugged them one last time, before going to Kyo and sobbing in his arms.

The door slid shut behind them, as the ship's horn bellowed loudly outside.

Little did Tohru know that there were worse things upon the horizon...

(A/N: Well, it's done now! A new chapter. Just two more and Outcast begins again! XD Betcha can't wait for the next one, huh!?!?! XD)


	4. Calmer Seas

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Four  
Calmer Seas_

That was it. Uo and Hana would not be joining them on the journey. Tohru stood there, as the glint of the chandeliers above her head shone still more brightly. Why hadn't the world collapsed around her, and gone into chaos? Surely it would of? As her two best friends had just left her for a painful two months.  
The ship's horn boomed up and outside somewhere, the ship gently rocking from side to side, in the waves' motions. Everyone looked uncomfortably from one to the other, as Tohru continued to stare at the door in which her two best friends had just left. It seemed surreal.  
Kyo hugged her from behind.

"It'll be okay" he whispered softly in her ear "You've still got us."

Tohru held Kyo's hand as they walked up to a board containing the ship's map. Tohru's faced still looking at the spot where Uo and Hana had once stood.

"Well," said Shigure, staring at the map "We're on deck 5 or 13 public decks. We can't access decks 1, 2 or 3. But still, 13 whole decks! Wow… I wonder how many girls that is…?"

"Shigure," said Yuki, also staring at the map "That's highly inappropriate."

"Do we have a meeting spot, in case any of us get lost?" asked Haru, looking away from the map.

"Let's just say the top deck… Everyone knows where it is" said Ha'ri.

"Wait!" said Ritsu "What if… One of us falls off deck?!?!"

"No one's gonna fall off deck" replied Kyo "No one's that stupid… Maybe you, but no one else."

"Wait!!! I'm gonna fall off of the deck!!!! Argh!!!!" Ritsu was on the floor, panicking.

People stared as they walked past his flailing body, which was twitching wildly. The group simultaneously grabbed him and picked him up. It was hard work, as he kept falling back over. Five minutes had passed, and the ship's horn blasted once more.

"Hey," said Yuki, once Ritsu had been placed upon a chair "There's an introduction to the ship in the ballroom in 15 minutes. Why don't we go?"

"Good idea, Yuki" said Tohru, who had finally realized Uo and Hana were not coming back.

So the group set off for the ballroom, which was on deck 7; two decks up. Even though they only had to climb two decks, they still got confused. The ship was enormous, and even with the maps to help, it did seem they were heading too far to the bow or stern.  
Eventually, they reached the ballroom. They stood at the very back of the crowd of people. The captain was stood on the stage, and was already partway through his speech, it was quite difficult to hear him talk.  
The captain was a portly man, dressed head to toe in a white captain's uniform; many badges hung from it, such achievements meant he had to know what he was doing. He was also quite old, a white beard and moustache hung from his face. He was also sweating; he may know how to steer a 150,000 tonne ship, but he didn't know how to talk to a crowd of people.

"... _Poseidon_ is a state-of-the-art cruise liner," he exclaimed with pride "Brought into service in 2006, she can carry up to 3000 passengers and crew. Being one of the largest cruise liners in the world, the _Poseidon_ is constantly going through refurbishments and upgrades to ensure our passengers travel with the top comfort and top satisfaction from your cruise.  
Based upon 15 decks, 13 of those being passenger decks, and boasting more than 150 shops in the shopping mall, she is like a floating city rather than a ship.  
Many services are available from the ship, such as cell phone access, WiFi in selected areas of the ship, gyms, spas, restaurants, bars, casinos. You name it, the _Poseidon's_ got it!  
Without any further ado, I'd like to thank you all for coming to this presentation, and if you have any questions, queries or comments, please, do not hesitate to talk to any of my staff.  
May you all have clear sailing and a fantastic voyage with the _Poseidon_. Enjoy your cruise!"

A rapturous applause erupted from the crowd as the captain left the room, and crew members handed out leaflets and other pieces of information to passengers.

"Awww," said Tohru "We missed it!"

"I guess this is what we get for being so disorganised!' replied Shigure.

"Maybe it had something to do with your four trips to the bathroom" said Kyo, glaring over at Shigure.

"Hey, you try drinking sixteen cups of water and see if you can hold it in and not go to the bathroom" replied Shigure, a hand in the air to show his innocence.

"Why the hell would you wanna drink _sixteen_ cups of water anyway!?" retorted Kyo.

"It's called being healthy" replied Shigure.

"Healthy?!" cried Kyo "Four cups of water is the average people drink! You drank four times that amount!"

No one really seemed to notice or care about Kyo and Shigure's pathetic fight; they were all too busy thinking about what they were going to do during the cruise.  
Tohru decided she was going to go to the pool upon the top deck of the ship, so she went back to their cabin and grabbed her swimming costume. She pulled out her one-piece costume; she still wasn't that confident to show off her body to others, especially a ship full of strangers!  
She put on her costume and put a sarong over her hips and put a sunhat on; grabbed a towel and a bag full of essentials (sun screen, key card, sunglasses etc.).  
She got into the lift and found Haru in it too. A man and a woman were also in the lift; they were discussing wildly to each other; their whispers an annoying hiss.

"Hi there, Haru!" said Tohru brightly "Where are you going?"

"I'm going back to my cabin now," replied Haru, watching as the light flickered from floor to floor.

The lift was currently going down to Deck 11 (Haru's deck), and then to Deck 9 (Tohru could only guess that's where the other people were going). Tohru pushed the Deck 15 button, as the doors skidded to a close, screeching slightly as they went.  
The lift fell as it clattered down to Deck 11, Tohru humming to herself as the lift's music gently wafted around the small box.  
The lift shuddered to a halt; the doors slid open on Deck 11.

"See you on the Sun Deck!" said Haru, waving a hand as he walked off.

"Bye!" replied Tohru brightly, as the doors slid once more, and the lift clattered downwards.

Tohru once again hummed to herself; the two people behind her had not stopped talking. Their voices mixed together, and almost emitted a high-pitched squeal as the giggled and whispered.  
The doors slid open once more as the lift arrived upon Deck 9, and the two people left, the whispering still audible as they turned left and headed off.  
The doors slid together once more, but the lift shot upwards towards Deck 15, then it was a staircase up to Deck 16; the Sun Deck.

The lift finally arrived at Deck 15, as Tohru exited the music gently strung in the background, until the doors shut behind her, and the lift descended.

Tohru gasped in amazement at what she saw; a huge room, walls made of glass stretched out beyond her. The dull noise of talk spewed all around her, and she looked 360degrees around herself, taking in all the delicate and expensive (and probably irreplaceable) objects around her. Crew members all in a light blue T-shirt and dark-blue shorts rushed past her, each with a towel in hand. A spa and gym was upon this deck, and Tohru knew she would have to come back at some point during her journey.

Tohru found the flight of stairs she needed to go up onto the Sun Deck, and ascended them quickly. Immediately she was 'greeted' by the sounded of the ship's bellowing horn, as it echoed over the city in the far distance. Tohru rearranged her hat so that the sun was blocked from her view.  
She took in the sights around her, the deck stretched from about 150feet in front of her, up to about 700-odd feet behind her. The wooden deck creaked slightly as she took step over to the spread-out sun beds next to the pool, and took one.  
She placed a towel upon a sun bed (one not too close to the pool, as children were splashing and getting water everywhere). And lied down upon it; placing her bag under her bed. She grabbed the suntan lotion from the bag and applied it from her face to her toes; placed her hat over her face and had a relaxing sunbathe, before falling asleep...

(A/N: Sorry about the long update! College has been quite the... y'know annoyance to me! I'll get this back on track soon! Well, I'll write more ASAP!)


	5. The Beginning of the End

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Five  
The Beginning of the End_

Tohru was enjoying her mid-afternoon doze, when she was awoken violently by someone. She lifted her hat and adjusted her eyes to meet Kyo's looking back at her.

"We were wondering where you were!" said Kyo, sitting on the bed next to Tohru.

"You were?" replied Tohru, sitting up in hers "I told Haru I was coming up her, he said he was coming too" she looked around; Haru was nowhere to be seen.

"Everyone's getting lunch," said Kyo "I don't know why, it's 4:30 already! Dinner will be soo-"

"_4:30_?!" cried Tohru "Oh my God! I missed most of the day! There was so much I wanted to do as well..."

"Don't worry," said Kyo, a smirk upon his face "we have two months to explore the ship and do stuff, there's plenty of time so don't panic!"

"I guess..." replied Tohru, looking down slightly.

"C'mon," said Kyo, grabbing Tohru's hand "Let's get ready for dinner."

Tohru grabbed her bag and packed everything away before following Kyo down the stairs, into the gym and spa, then to the lifts were they went down to Deck 12 and into their room.

* * *

Both of them had showers, and whilst Tohru was drying her hair with the hairdryer, Kyo was picking out what clothes he could wear.

I knew I shoulda packed more clothes than this!" he said, finally throwing down his final T-shirt "There's nothing here for a formal occasion."

The _Poseidon_ had been sailing for two days now, and had one more day at sea before finally arriving in Australia. The ship glided across the water, as Tohru and Kyo were sitting in their room, preparing for the major feast in the ballroom, the wind raising the curtains slightly. They hadn't bothered going to a feast yet, and this was the first night they'd be going. It was a formal occasion, and they needed to be dressed formally.

"Of course there is!" replied Tohru, getting up off of the bed, pulling her towel up her chest; her hair slightly more dry than earlier.

"Look at this!" she said, grabbing one of his shirts "These are all creased! Did you just _throw_ everything into your suitcase?"

"Well, yeah," replied Kyo, blushing slightly "I thought I could just iron them when we got here."

Tohru gave a disapproving look, which couldn't be held long, as he embraced her and she fell upon the bed.

"When?" Kyo asked, his red eyes staring down into her big brown ones.

"Tonight," she replied, a small smile upon her face "I promise."

The evening drew in quickly, and the Sun quickly began to set upon the horizon. The _Poseidon_ was still gliding gracefully across the ocean, in half-an-hour the guests were to sit down and eat the evening meal.

Tohru had put on a floor-length cream dress with a ruffled shoulder. It had a white rose attached above Tohru's upper-left chest; which matched the one on her right wrist. Her cream stilettos were covered by the ruffled bottom of her dress. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, and she had a cream purse to top it all off.

Kyo came in from the bathroom, dressed in a black tuxedo, with black bow-tie. His polished shoes gleamed from the floor, reflecting almost every light within the room.

"You look stunning," said Kyo, his face on her shoulder.

Tohru looked back at him "You don't shape up too bad, either," she replied, as he turned her and embraced her.

"I love you so much," said Kyo, the gentle breeze drafting through the balcony door "And I hope you know I always will."

"Of course I do," replied Tohru, muffle slightly in his shoulder "And I love you too, more than you could imagine."

The ships horn erupted from outside, signalling dinnertime. Tohru and Kyo grabbed the rest of the things needed, closed and locked the patio door and headed off for the lifts, to the ballroom.  
Tohru checked Kyo's watch; it read 7:03pm. They were on time, at least. Although she didn't think anyone else would be.

They arrived downstairs in the reception, to see she was in fact wrong. Everyone else was downstairs, dressed in their best for the first night of their cruise. Tohru was stunned; everyone looked fantastic, all dressed up in tuxedos. Yuki, Shigure, Haru, Hatori, Ritsu and Ayame all shined brighter than any star, in Tohru's eyes, as they headed for the crowded ballroom.

The oak-panelled ballroom was decorated with balloons, streamers and other apparel that highlighted and excelled the ballroom's already modern, yet classic build. The room was based upon two floors, a huge open floor space below a balcony which stretched around the corners of the room, the glass railing marked with a _'P'_ curved around the edges of the balcony space. On the balcony were gambling tables and tables, which were for drinking and other purposes. The balcony continued through doors at the stage-end of the room.  
A dance floor was present in the direct front of the stage, and stretched out, with tables dotted around the dance floor.  
Each table had a golden tablecloth, with a white over sheet upon it. Flowers, candles, knives, forks, champagne glasses and bread baskets were placed neatly upon each, and a name upon a card in each seat.

Their table had been reserved for them, and after having to travel down three flights of stairs to get it, everyone was pretty hungry. The table had another group of people on it, who were talking to each other, and greeted Tohru's group as they sat upon the twelve-seated table.

"I'm Kari, this is my sister, Takina, this is my mother and father, Chihiro and Harugi," said the girl next to Tohru, who in turn, waved over to the group.

"Well," said Tohru "I'm Tohru, this is Kyo, Haru, Ritsu, Yuki, Ayame, Shigure and Hatori."  
Each time Tohru said their name, the person would wave to the group across them.

"It's nice to meet you," said Kari.

"You too" replied Tohru, a bright smile upon her face.

A message rose above the crowd over the tannoy-system, with which the crowd went silent "Dear guests upon the _Poseidon_. We appreciate your wait, and that dinner is about to be served. Tomorrow will be a final day at sea, as we then call in at port off the coast of Australia. The weather will be clear throughout both days, with a wind speed of three knots tonight through to tomorrow morning. We do ask people to be careful on deck during tomorrow as there will be waves of 1.14 metres. Thank you, and enjoy your cruise upon the _Poseidon._"

With that, everyone burst into rapturous applause as the ships horn blasted once more, signalling the approach of dinner.  
Music began playing from the stage behind her. Waiters came round with menus for every guest; within each was a huge and luxurious selection to choose from.

"What're you having?" whispered Tohru to Kyo "I can't decide."

"I don't know either," replied Kyo, looking at her "There's too much to choose from."

"So," Tohru asked casually "What's everyone having?"

Mostly everyone else was having the side salad to start, then Italian chicken for main course, and a chocolate gateau for dessert. Others had ordered the salmon for main course, or strawberry trifle for dessert.

After about ten minutes, about twenty or-so waiters came out with trolleys, carrying around 150 dishes between them. One came over to Tohru's table and handed out the side salads and a mango (for Yuki). The side salad was surprisingly tasty, despite looking a bit dry. The plump peppers made up most of the flavour, whilst the lettuce just seemed to be there for decoration more than anything.  
Another waiter came to their table, to offer complimentary wine for each guest. Everyone on the table chose to have white wine, in which everyone raised their glasses ("To new beginnings").  
After a fully-appetising starter course, main courses were served out. Everyone's courses came together, and they tucked in to one of the best meals Tohru had ever had. This could have rivalled her home cooking! The chicken was so tender, and the tomato and basil sauce blended and textured with the chicken perfectly. The sauce was so thick and creamy, that it was almost sickly, in a sense. The aroma of the sauce lingered, even after the plates had long gone, and dessert was brought over to the table. A whole chocolate gateau had been brought over to their table, fourteen identical slices cut into it. The taste was so sweet, and so sickly that it was practically a heart-melting pleasure. The thick pieces took the longest, as it was almost too sickly to eat. Tohru had to offer hers to everyone else, after only eating a half of her slice, with which everyone kindly declined, as they could barely manage theirs.

With that, the courses were done, with which everyone gave a polite round of applause to the chefs and waiters. There was about twenty minutes of general chatter, whilst everyone's stomachs settled.  
Yuki, Ayame and Haru stood up from the table.

"We're going to the disco downstairs," Haru said, placing his chair under the table "It's free drinks for the first hour, and Ayame got some tickets!"

"Oh, okay," replied Tohru, smiling brightly at them "Have fun!"

And with that, the three of them left, out of the back doors and two decks below to the disco.

Tohru looked up as the band began playing again, this time a singer was on the stage. Tohru never caught her name, as she was talking to Kyo at the time. However, Tohru thought she was good.  
The music became very catchy, and soon Tohru was asking Kyo to dance. She was tugging at his arm.

"C'mon!" she whined "It'll be fun!!"

"What's so fun about getting up and embarrassing yourself?" replied Kyo, his free arm holding onto the table, as Ritsu, Shigure and Hatori watched and laughed.

"Oh, you're no fun!" said Tohru, slumping down onto her chair, a sad look upon her face. She stared at Kyo. She continued to stare at him for several minutes before he gave in.

"Oh, okay then!" he shouted, grabbed Tohru by the arm and dragged her to the dance floor.

Despite the fact he'd been complaining earlier, Kyo was in fact a good dancer. He was very limited to begin with, but once the music caught up with him, he began to flow with the tune. Tohru was enjoying herself so much, that when a slower song came up, she grabbed Kyo instantly, and they began to slow dance together. Tohru never once felt Kyo's feet stumble upon hers; he was acting a proper gentleman.

Meanwhile, up upon the bridge of the _Poseidon_, the captain looked worried.

"There's something about the sea," he said, binoculars in hand "Something just doesn't feel right, y'know?"

With that, he lifted the binoculars to his eyes, and scanned the horizon. It was then, he saw it. A 150ft wave was heading directly for the ship.

"Oh, God..." he said, dropping the binoculars on the floor. "Man the bow thrusters! Turn the ship full astern to starboard!"

With this, there was panic on the bridge.

"Sound the alarm, everyone to their stations immediately!" said the Captain.

A crew member pushed the button for the tannoy system, and sounding the alarm "All crew report _immediately_ to your emergency stations! This is _not_ a drill! All passengers be prepared for immediate and heavy rolling within the next three minutes!"

In the ballroom, Tohru and Kyo had stopped dancing, there was utter silence until the drill had finished. With that there was complete pandemonium, Tohru and Kyo ran from the dance floor to the rest of the group.

"Oh my God!" shouted Tohru, amidst the screams of everyone in the ballroom "Haru! Yuki! Ayame! They're in the disco!!!"

Tohru broke down into tears "C'mon!" shouted Kyo "We gotta get to the lifeboats! It's the only way of getting off of this thing!"

Tohru turned to Kyo, tears falling gracefully from her cheeks and off of her chin "It's too late," she said, pulling Kyo down to her level, and embracing him for what she thought would be the last time.

"The wave's coming closer!!!" someone screamed as the wave approached the starboard side of the ship.

Back on the bridge, the Captain was trying all he could to turn the ship head-on into the wave; however, the ship was not turning fast enough. He pulled as hard as he could on the bow thrusters, but to no avail.

The _Poseidon_ was doomed...

Tohru and Kyo hugged as tightly as possible, Shigure, Hatori and Ritsu with them too, as the wave drew ever closer to the ship, utter pandemonium around them, as people ran and screamed for their friends and loved ones.  
The ship slowly began to shudder, as the wave drew closer to the doomed ship.

(A/N: Thanks for keeping up with my slow schedule! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and looking out for the next one coming soon!)


	6. The Wave

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Six  
The Wave_

The ship began to vibrate suddenly, and increasingly became more violent. Champagne glasses, plates and other small objects began to shudder and fall off of their tables, and smash upon the floor. Tohru grasped Kyo tightly, as the imminent wave drew closer, and closer. Tohru gasped, all air escaped her lungs as she stared for what she thought would be the final time into Kyo's deep red eyes, who sighed back, both of them with looks of "acceptance of death" on their faces.

The ship was jerked to port, as the wave ploughed into the starboard side of the ship, water cascading over each deck, one by one. The wave instantly smashed almost every balcony railing and cabin window. People on decks were flung like ragdolls and dragged with the wave, their screams cut of swiftly and violently. The ship creaked and groaned as it was pushed over itself by the force of the 150ft wave.

As the ship was forced over, Tohru, Kyo, Shigure, Ritsu and Hatori were thrown to the port side of the ballroom, screaming as they went, desperately trying to keep hold of each other, but were separated as each one fell. Tohru landed upon a window bracket, she felt her spine click with the force, she groaned and screamed in pain and the window groaned as water splashed into view on the other side of it.

People fell like dominos on the now uneven ground, all simultaneously. Any item not secured down flew across the room. Screams and shouts filled the ballroom as the lights flashed on and off, windows cracked and part of the balcony that circled the ballroom collapsed. People on the balcony either cascaded into the port wall, or were tossed from the starboard side to the floor below, with a sickening crunch, and rolled limply with the ships rolling motion.

On the Bridge, the Captain and crew were tossed to the port side of the room, grabbing equipment along the way to try and keep themselves upright, but the equipment either broke or collapsed as they went. The windows cracked as they gave one final scream as the windows shattered, glass was sprayed with the tidal wave of water that entered the Bridge, drowning the crew instantly.

In the disco, Yuki, Haru and Ayame were thrown around like ragdolls, collapsing riggings fell everywhere, chairs and tables flew across the room. The DJ's deck began to slide across the room as well, falling with a loud crash as it steam piled people in its path towards the port-side wall.  
Yuki grabbed Haru's hand as he fell, as a huge pile of people cascaded down the room and onto him. Haru clung to a table as the mass of people fell onto him and Yuki. People began to cling to Yuki as well, and Haru couldn't hold on, and Yuki disappeared with the people into the wall, a sickening crunch was heard, as glasses, lights and other objects cascaded and rained upon them.

Back in the ballroom, Tohru had lost track of everyone else, fading in and out slightly, she zoomed back her vision just enough to see that an ice sculpture was deteriorating its way down to her, she screamed as she threw herself to the left. The ice sculpture smashed into the window, completely destroyed, it sent thousands of shards in all manner of directions. The ship was upside-down now, and the weight of the lifts caused them to collapse, smashing through the ballroom wall, greeted by the screams of hundreds of guests and crushing people underneath them.

Tohru was now on the underside of the balcony, as the ship continued to circle itself, and slowly but surely, she began to slide towards the unprotected end of the balcony.  
There was nothing she could hold on to, and she began to gather speed as the edge of the balcony drew nearer, she screamed as she fell off of the edge and hit a pile of chairs, which partially cushioned her fall.

Everything was now headed towards the starboard side of the now upside-down ship. Then everything began hurtling in the opposite direction and crushed everyone once more as the ship glided to a halt on her side, the port side under water, and the starboard side above sea level, the stars glinting through the windows.

The lights flashed off and on, finally dying and the _Poseidon_ was engrossed in complete darkness. The people who were still conscious screamed as the ship groaned and creaked, and the emergency lights flickered into life.

After a few minutes, Tohru awoke slowly, and painfully. She found herself in the rubble of chairs that had 'broken' her fall. Her legs were cut and bruised, her dress tattered, torn, and dirty. She slowly came to her senses, standing up slowly, the windows both directly underneath her, and above her: everyone and everything was on the port side of the ship, and beneath the windows lay a dark, desolate and unforgiving sea. Above her, and the collapsed balcony, the stars shone brightly through the windows.

That's when she though (and shouted aloud) "Kyo? Kyo?!"

Panic now ran through her very existence, and it seemed to have caught on with the other passengers as they shouted for their loved ones as well, and panic ran through the ballroom as though another wave had struck the ship.

Outside, the ship groaned and creaked; the _Poseidon_ couldn't stay on her side, or above sea level forever...

(A/N: I thought I'd cut it short there. Okay, _Poseidon_'s now officially on its way, which can only mean one thing! _Outcast_ will begin again! Enjoy both these fics as they're updated!)


	7. Plunged

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Seven  
Plunged_

Tohru looked around the room, looking for a hopeful sign of any of her friends.

"Kyo?! Shigure?! Ha'ri?!" she shouted, tears welling up in her eyes and she ran through the room, slipping slightly on some of the windows.

She kept looking, and eventually found Kyo, on his stomach, eyes closed, and unresponsive.

"Oh my God..." she said, running to Kyo's side "Please no... Please... No..."

She rolled Kyo over onto his back, his head lolling slightly. Tohru placed her head upon his chest; gentle and shallow breaths were being drawn in and out slowly.

Some lights began to flicker back to life, drowning out the emergency ones. However, some sparked and sent shots around the lighting fixtures, people unfortunate enough to be near them were zapped by the electricity, or burned. People screamed as they scrambled out of the way of danger.  
Tohru began to shake Kyo "C'mon, Kyo" she muttered a couple of times, shaking him more violently.

"Please, Kyo," she whispered, lowering her head onto his chest again "Please... Wake up... I can't live without you..."

She looked back up and around the room, looking for a sign of any of the others. She spotted Shigure at the carnage of the lift that had crashed through the ballroom's wall. He was knelt down, nursing an injury; but he was also talking to someone, tears streaming down his face.

Tohru kissed Kyo's forehead "I'll be back in a minute, my love" she whispered to him, and she stood up and walked over to Shigure.  
As she walked, she could feel the ship swaying slightly under her feet, it put her off her balance a little bit, as the ship's violent capsizing had forced it to become severely unstable.

"S-Shigure?" she asked, tapping Shigure's shoulder, who immediately shot around, a look of utter relief broke upon his face as he saw who it was.

"Tohru!" he gasped, about to hug her before he realised. "I'm so happy you're okay!" he added, breathlessly "Have you seen anyone else?"

"Kyo's over there" said Tohru, pointing to Kyo's lifeless body "I don't whether he's – he's..." she broke off, for as she had looked down at the second, she saw a total and utter shocking sight that coursed a wave of panic and horror through her entire body.

There. Right there. Draped in a veil of blood. Was Ritsu. He was barely recognisable. Tohru only realised by his long, copper hair. His eyes were open; staring, as if in shock. He was under the lift that had collapsed through the wall, the twisted and tangled metal lay all around him. Tohru knew there was no hope of getting him out; for he was already dead.

"Oh my God!" shouted Tohru, looking away, the urge to be sick upon her, and she keeled over on a window bracket and through up into the trough where the window was; the endless sea below it.

"I know," said Shigure, rubbing Tohru's back, as she vomited violently "I found him a couple of minutes ago. He's – he's -"

But Tohru had already known. She gasped for air as she stood back up again, hands on her knees to support herself.

"It's tragic," said Shigure, staring down at Ritsu's body "but there's nothing we can do for him... It's better for him to be gone now than suffer if he were still alive."

Tohru knew it was for the best, but to see him there. Right there. The glint of life gone in his now dead, lifeless eyes... It was horrifying to see.

"W- We'd best check up on Kyo, and see if we can find Ha'ri" suggested Shigure, helping Tohru along to Kyo, who was still laid upon the wall, near a window.

The ship, which had now stopped swaying as badly as before, let out an almighty groan, which vibrated through its very structure. People screamed once more as the lights flickered on and off again. The _Poseidon_ had begun moving again, but this time, she began slowly plunging under the ocean. The stars which were shining brightly through the port windows had now started moving; the ship was now slipping under the waves fully, to a totally inverted position.

Tohru and Shigure, who had been walking over to Kyo had noticed this shift in balance, and had started slipping as the ship slipped through the waves once more. Everything now started shifting once more; this time to the ship's ceiling.  
Rubble and other objects now began to slide straight down onto the balcony pieces, or were falling the ceiling itself.

Tohru and Shigure held on to each other tightly as the ship rolled until she was completely upside-down.

Tohru screamed as the lights once more flickered off and then on once more, and water was the only thing viewable from the windows either side of her.  
She and Shigure now had to find Kyo all over again, as rubble and dead bodies littered the ceiling and the balcony.

Outside, the ships huge bottom protruded from the ocean's waves... These were the final hours of the _Poseidon_...

(A/N: Another long update – sorry. But now the story has almost fully started, we can move on! See you soon!)


	8. Dead Ends

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
__Chapter Eight  
__Dead Ends_

Tohru panicked slightly as she jerked her head from side-to-side, looking desperately for a sign of Kyo. Shigure followed behind her; Ritsu's body had disappeared with the rubble as the ship shifted.

Tears were streaming down Tohru's face. How could this have happened? What was going to happen now?

She pondered over the rubble and wreckage. Everywhere, it seemed, was lined with bodies; unconscious, or not. Panic and adrenaline was still surging through her very existence, and she scoured the room, hopefully looking for her beloved Kyo, and that was fine.

She must have gone around the room three times, and it seemed Kyo was nowhere to be seen. All around her was devastation and chaos. People were running around, as she was, screaming for their loved ones, or cradling bodies in their hands. Cold, dead bodies with a glaze over their eyes; some with disfiguring injuries, and some looking peaceful and relaxed.

Tohru could see herself, cradling Kyo in her arms, asking God why he had not taken her instead. She stopped walking, overwhelmed with emotion, and collapsed onto her knees, sobbing as she did.

"Kyo," she sobbed, putting her hands over her eyes, her warm tears tickling her hands as they trickled off of them and to her lap

Shigure caught up with her "Tohru, it's going to be okay," he said, encouragingly "We'll find him. And we'll find the others"

"No," said Tohru, looking around, still rooted to the spot "We won't. We-We'll die here. I know it. It's useless to think we can get out of here alive"

"Tohru!" said Shigure, pulling her up (carefully) "Don't think like that! You're usually the optimistic one who tells us everything's gonna be okay!"

"Shigure!" shouted Tohru, tears still falling from her dirty, cut face "Don't you see?! This is it! This is where we die! There is no hope for us now!"

Shigure grabbed Tohru's wrist "Don't talk like that! We need to remain positive. When we find Kyo-"

"_If_ we find Kyo" interrupted Tohru

"_When_ we find Kyo," Shigure said, as though he hadn't been interrupted "We'll go out and find Yuki, Haru and Aya. And then we'll find a way out of here. We'll be fine"

Shigure smiled encouragingly to Tohru, who began to slowly smile back

"Okay," she said, smiling wider "Okay, we'll do it!"

She set off, a new, refreshed feeling within her as she set off, looking around for a sign of Kyo.

It was an awful sight, walking around the now upside-down ball room. It was hard to imagine that only around half-an-hour ago, everyone was happily dancing, toasting to a new adventure in their lives.

Tohru eyed the wreckage of the ballroom, it was very difficult to find any sign of Kyo, bodies littered almost every part of the huge room, he could be anywhere.

"Tohru," came Shigure's voice behind her. She turned around to look at him "I'm going to check over here" Tohru agreed and Shigure walked off to the other side of the room, looking for Kyo

Tohru tried to remain positive during her search, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as she saw body after body, some grotesquely disfigured, others in a state of shock. Tohru knew she had to search under the rubble for Kyo, and she began pulling away broken pieces of chairs, tables, banners, glass; pretty much anything that hadn't been bolted or secured down had shifted when the wave had ploughed into the ship's side, causing the _Poseidon_ to capsize as violently as she had.

Tohru had to fight the urge not to be sick as she found bodies drenched in blood; the smells were just beginning to develop around the ballroom, of bodies, or burning.

Tohru looked up, and her heart jolted; she saw a flash of orange. She ran over to the body, only to find it wasn't Kyo, just another innocent victim to the ocean's mighty fury...

Tohru began to lose any hope she had of finding Kyo at all. The new, refreshed feeling she had when she had begun to look for Kyo had gone as quickly as it had come, it seemed.

After 15 minutes of searching, Shigure caught up with her; he hadn't seen Kyo at all.

This drained all hope from Tohru's very existence. Kyo couldn't have left this room, he was unconscious when the ship had shifted from her side to completely inverted.

She glanced the room once more. Going from the stage high above them, over to the opposite side, where an elevator shaft had crashed through the ballroom's wall; the damage was massive

Just then, the ship shook violently. The windows trembled and creaked in their brackets, and the lights flashed on and off. Every living soul in the ball room screamed, as the vessel groaned loudly around them, as though of a dying beast, were they going down at last? Or was it just an explosion in some remote part of the doomed ship? A staircase that lead of to other parts of the ship collapsed, crashing to the ceiling (now the floor) in a huge cloud of dust and debris, crushing part of the balcony.

The lights kept flashing, as Tohru clasped to a pillar that supported the balcony above her. Shigure stood behind her, as the lights flickered back into life. "We're gonna find him, Tohru. I know we are"

Tohru breathed heavily as she looked up at the ravaged Shigure, his black suit scorched and ripped, his face dirty and cut. Tohru once more surveyed her surroundings. People were now frantically looking for their loved ones as they rampaged through the rubble of the ballroom, looking desperately for their loved ones, or cradling or mourning their deceased family members or friends.

She glanced at the balcony above them. That's when it hit her. Why wasn't Kyo with them? Because he was on the unsupported balcony above them! Tohru ran to the middle of the room, around the light fixtures, with the glass chandeliers tarnished and broken. Shigure followed her, an inquisitive look on his face.

"What're you doing, Tohru?" he asked, following her eye-line with his

"Finding Kyo" she replied, beaming at him.

She looked around herself, looking for any kind of way to get up to the balcony that ran around the room. She noticed the collapsed staircase, it had a clear path to the balcony, and even an escape route! She took off her high-heels and ran up the steep slope, grabbing on to twisted pipes and rubble that littered the edge of the destroyed staircase, and pulled herself up onto the decaying balcony.

Shigure followed soon after, as Tohru walked along the balcony. It groaned and creaked under her feet, it had become highly unstable after it had been battered so many times during the ship's capsizing. Then, her heart leapt; there, still unconscious was the definite form of Kyo, his bright orange hair glinting slightly in the lights on the wall behind him.

Kyo was crushed up against the wall, rubble and other items littered the balcony's edge around him. Tohru ran up to him, pushing a tipped-up dining trolley out of the way as she looked at Kyo.

"He's here!" said Shigure, amazed "Ingenious, Tohru! We found him!"

Tohru beamed, as she looked down at the ex-Cat below her.

Tohru knew she had to be careful, she couldn't necessarily move Kyo, in case he had sustained any form of injury. So, as gently as she could, she rolled Kyo onto his back. Shigure had taken off his tuxedo coat and handed it to Tohru, who used it to prop Kyo's head up.

Tohru lightly placed her ear onto Kyo's chest. A faint heart beating could be heard, and his breathing was slightly irregular.

"He's alive, at least" said Tohru, looking worriedly at Kyo below her "I think he's just unconscious, but I'm not too sure. If only there was a doctor-"

Tohru froze. _Doctor_. Hatori!

"Shigure!" exclaimed Tohru, whipping around to Shigure "Was Ha'ri with us when we capsized?"

"Oh my God!" said Shigure, an increasingly worried expression stretched across his face "Yes, he was! Tohru, stay here with Kyo, I have to find Ha'ri, alive or not"

And he ran off, sliding down the upside-down staircase and ran across the ballroom, shouting "Hatori!" as he went

Tohru turned her attention back to Kyo, who was extremely pale. Despite what he'd been through, Kyo had very few cuts. His handsome face was as white as a sheet, and Tohru rubbed her hand down it, hoping it wasn't too late for Kyo... For them... For the _Poseidon_...

Just then, a voice boomed from the now upside-down stage. It was one of the ship's officers. He was just as ravaged as everyone in the ballroom, and he was shouting to all who could hear him.

"Please!! Everyone, listen to me!!" he exclaimed, as the noise from the ballroom subsided, and every eye was upon him "Now, let me just say that what has happened is an extremely unlikely tragedy. We have been struck by what is known as a _rogue wave_. Now, these are extremely rare, they're big, very big in fact. And they're unpredictable. They can appear in even the most calmest seas, in a matter of minutes. It just so happens to be that our ship, the _Poseidon_, has become another victim to these monstrous freaks of nature.

Now, let me just inject some hope into you, as the second the _Poseidon_ was struck, a GPS locater beam was sent out to the nearest coastguards, or vessels within a 500-mile radius of our ship. This means that rescue is already on their way, and we need not panic, and remain here until they arrive"

People didn't seem to be putting too much faith in what the officer had just said, as they immediately began to shout out:

"What, are we sinking?"

"How long is it going to be before they reach us?"

"What about them getting into the ship?"

"We can't just sit here if the ship's sinking"

"We need an escape route"

"Aren't we at risk of fire, explosions, or flooding?"

"Stop!" bellowed the officer "Now, I can assure you that we are very safe here. This ballroom is a gigantic air-bubble, holding up the ship, and these windows are fitted to absorb any kind of shock running through them, so they cannot crack or break when under stress. Rescue is more than likely about 2 hours at most away, so we only need to stay here. We _will_ be safe. I repeat: we, _will_, be, safe"

Tohru wasn't convinced, this ship was doomed the instant the ship was hit by the wave, she knew it. She looked as people crowded around the officer, questions still being asked.

There came a cough below Tohru, who tore her eyes from the officer, and down at Kyo, who was slowly opening his eyes.

"Kyo!" she exclaimed "Kyo! You're okay!!"

Kyo muttered something, and began to shift himself upwards, which Tohru stopped him

"You can't do that!" she said, her hand on his shoulder "We don't know what's wrong with you. You may have a broken back for all we know"

Just then, Kyo opened his eyes fully, and took in his surroundings. "What the hell happened?" he said, gazing from the water outside the windows to the rubble and destruction around them "Tohru," he repeated "What happened here?"

"We... We were struck by a rogue wave, and we've now capsized" she said, looking anywhere but Kyo. Now he was awake she couldn't bare to look into his eyes. Those red, deep eyes...

"A-And everyone else?" he said, looking desperately at her face

Tohru had been dreading this question, she knew it was coming up eventually, and she was regretting that she was going to answer it

"W-Well..." she stuttered, still looking away from Kyo, and into her lap "Shigure, myself and you are fine..." she dropped off there, tears forming in her eyes

"And the others?" Kyo asked, still trying to look Tohru directly

"W-Well-" Tohru started, and she felt Kyo's hand brush her check, wiping away her falling tears. She gazed into his eyes, those deep red eyes. They seemed to gaze at each other for a century, as though all their troubles had left them, and they were going to be fine.

Tohru's vision was shattered however, by Kyo cutting in "And the others?"

"We-We don't know about Yuki, Haru or Aya... They went to the disco, so we're not sure if they're okay or not..." she said, still looking into Kyo's eyes "And Shigure has gone to find Ha'ri, but that was like 15 minutes ago, so I don't know how he is. And Ritsu..." she broke off, she couldn't tell him. It was impossible...

"Tohru, tell me" said Kyo, a little more harshly this time

Tohru mustered up her strength, she could tell Kyo knew what was coming "Ritsu... Is... Dead..." she said, tears streaming down her face now "He was crushed by that elevator shaft that crashed through the wall there..." Silence met the end of Tohru's sentence, as Kyo peered over at the hole in the wall, as twisted metal and rubble littered the huge hole that had appeared in the hole opposite.

"How're you feeling, Kyo?" said Tohru, after what seemed an age since they had last spoke

"Better than I was earlier" he said, and Tohru could see that a little bit of Kyo's colour had returned to his cheeks and face "I think I can sit up, at least"

"Kyo, I'm sure you want to risk that. We still don't know whether or not you've injured your back"

"My back feels fine" replied Kyo, pushing himself up

"Some people don't even think they've injured their back when they've in fact broken it" retorted Tohru, she didn't want to see Kyo leave her forever "But, if you insist, please, please, _please_, do it slowly, and go straight back to lying down if you feel discomfort"

Kyo pushed himself up slowly, just as Shigure appeared, sombre looking, towards them. Tohru knew there was no good news to this. She braced herself for what she knew would be a tragic story

"Well," Shigure said, kneeling next to Tohru and Kyo "I'm glad to see you're okay, Kyo" Shigure smiled slightly, but it faltered almost immediately "But, I'm afraid Hatori has... died"

Even though she had expected this, it hit Tohru like a ton of bricks to the chest. _Poseidon_ had claimed its second victim from their group.

"I found him, he was under a lot of chairs, and he was covered in blood," Shigure began, tears now streaming down his face "He was awake for some parts of it. We spoke. He said he knew he was going to die here. I held him in my arms for a while, as we spoke of as much as possible, and we spoke of anything. But... Then, he began to become faint. His answers become smaller and smaller, and his breath became shallow... He then said 'Goodbye, Shigure, my old friend. Tell everyone I send my love... Even Tohru'. And then his closed his eyes and he-"

"Stop it!" said Tohru, as she sobbed loudly into her hands "Just... Stop it..."

Kyo grasped Tohru, and embraced her. Tohru continued to sob as Kyo's body pressed against hers, his warmth radiating through her body as she felt his heart beating in his chest, his breath on her neck

"Tohru..." he whispered gently into her ear, so only she could hear "These are not the final moments of our lives. Don't lose hope, we'll get through it, and I will be with you every step of the way. To kiss you, to hug you, to help you, to love you... And when we get off this ship, we'll grow old together, and remember this disaster as a tribute to those who have died. I just want you to know that I love you. More than you know, and you are the one I want with me for the rest of my days. I love you, Tohru... I love you"

He let her go, as she looked into his big red eyes, and he looked straight back into hers. Tears in his eyes, and tears down her face, she kissed him, as though nothing had even happened to them... As the reality of the_ Poseidon_ disappeared around them, and they were in a dream world, away from the disaster...

(A/N: I'm sorry for the extremely long update! It's been so difficult to do this chapter, from lack of ideas, and I hate talking of death in fics – so morbid, but not everyone can live, can they? Anyway, enjoy the gap between these chapters, as Tohru and co. begin to come up with a plan to escape the _Poseidon_)


	9. Escape Impossible

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon_

_Chapter Nine_

_Escape Impossible_

The _Poseidon_ vibrated slightly, as her descent between the waves became more inevitable.

Tohru looked from Kyo to Shigure "We've gotta get out of here, any way we can – I don't trust what that guy just said"

"Neither do I," replied Shigure, kneeling next to Tohru "But what can we do?" he added, surveying the room

"I don't know," Tohru looked at Shigure "I don't feel too confident about Kyo moving. He could have given himself any injury"

"I'm _fine_" said Kyo, pulling himself up more "I told you, didn't I?"

"Okay!" said Tohru "I'm just concerned for you!"

"I know you are" replied Kyo, pulling himself up more

He looked outside the blackened window; bubbles were rising past it, an unwelcome sign to them

"Um, we'd best start moving!" said Tohru, also noticing the bubbles

New determination pulsed through them, and Tohru reluctantly helped Kyo to his feet. They slid down the broken staircase for a sign of a map, or something that would help them get out of the ballroom.

A man in uniform walked past them, cradling his right arm with his left. He winced slightly as he walked past them.

Suddenly, Tohru got an idea.

"Excuse me!" she called to him, running over to the injured man. He turned around "We were wondering if there was a map or something around here for us to use?"

The guy stared at them for a few seconds, taking each detail in, in turn and said "There's one over there" he pointed to the wall opposite them, under the up-turned balcony, where, sure enough, an upside-down map of the _Poseidon_ was. "Why is it you want to know, exactly?" he added, eyeing Tohru suspiciously

"W-Well, um..." Tohru sighed "Fine. We're looking for a way out of here. Regardless of what that captain guy said, we don't believe a word of it. So, we're getting out of here before we all... Well, die..."

"Oh, well, if it's an escape you want, I can help" he said, leaning in closely "But it's gonna cost ya..."

"What?" said Kyo, enticed with rage "You're gonna milk us from this disaster?"

"Gotta keep my own living" replied the man "You can't possibly think that I'd get a lot of money suing this cruise line when there are so many on board thinking the same?"

"I'm sure that's the last thing on most people's minds!" said Tohru "I'm pretty sure the death of a loved one is more important"

"You'd be surprised" replied the steward "Look, do you want any help or not?"

Kyo pulled Tohru and Shigure aside "I don't think we should..." he said sceptically

"I think we should" replied Tohru, looking at Kyo

"Are you crazy?!" retorted Kyo "That guy wants _money_ to get us out of here alive!"

"Well, what other choice do we have?!" replied Tohru, raising her voice slightly "I'm sorry, but he knows the ship better than we do... We could benefit from his help"

"I'll alert the Sohma Estate after we get back home about it, I'm sure they'll pay for part of it..." said Shigure, looking at them both "C'mon, we gotta get out of here"

They walked back over to the steward, Kyo had a menacing glare on his face

"We're gonna take your help" said Tohru, crossing her arms "But we wanna know what your demands are?"

"I want 250,000" replied the steward

"You extortionate piece of _crap_!" shouted an enraged Kyo

"Those are my demands," replied the steward, barely batting an eyelash at Kyo's retort "Take it or leave it"

"Fine," came the voice of Shigure behind Tohru and Kyo "But let's go, now. I don't know how much time we have left, and I'm not wasting what little of it we do have making negotiations!"

"The name's Matake, by the way" said the steward

"Shigure" replied Shigure quickly

"I'm Tohru" said Tohru

"Kyo" said Kyo, looking away to the makeshift staircase opposite them

They headed over to the map of the ship. It was a lot higher than they originally thought it was, seeing as it would best be suited for passengers voyaging with the ship right-side up. Tohru had to climb onto Shigure's shoulders to see it properly.

Well, the disco is two floors down... Which is now up... So there's our first stop!" she said brightly, Shigure dropping her.

"What?" said Matake "Why are we going there? That's such an unnecessary stop!"

"Our friends are down... Up there, and we wanna find 'em" said Kyo shortly

"Fine" replied Matake "Let's go"

"I'm guessing we'll be taking the slope" said Shigure, gesturing everyone over to it

Tohru paused for a moment, she picked up a steak knife off the floor and began hacking away at her dress, until it was short enough for her to move more freely "I'm ready, let's go"

And with that, they began their ascent to the disco, as the mighty _Poseidon_ creaked and groaned around them, swaying, slightly with the ocean's waves...

(A/N: sorry about the very long update period – I've been so busy I've had no time for much else! Anyway, updates will keep coming on this and Outcast, so keep tuned!)


	10. Getting Out

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Ten  
Getting Out_

The group made their way over to the upturned staircase, and began to sort out how they were going to get up, when a distressed woman came over to them with two other people.

"A-Are you going to get out of here?" she said warily, looking at Tohru

Tohru recognised her at once; it was Kari from earlier, and her parents, Chihiro and Harugi, were with her. They looked distressed and their once gleaming clothes now tattered and burned.

"Y-Yeah" replied Tohru, looking from one face to another "We're planning on going up to the disco, and then up to look for any signs of help or escape"

"Would you mind if we came along?" asked Chichiro, Kari's mother look frightened and desperate "We'll keep up as best we can"

"Sure" said Tohru, looking back on the others, all of whom seemed wary of letting others join them, but no one objected, and began their ascent of the upturned staircase.  
Kyo began to climb up first, the others rushing to get up next. Kari, however, stayed behind with Tohru.

Tohru looked hesitant to say what she wanted, and Kari seemed to know Tohru wanted to say something

"Something wrong?" asked Kari, looking at Tohru, as the others in front of them scurried to get up the staircase.

"Oh... Um..." Tohru hesitated for a moment "Um... Y-Your s—sister-"

"Oh... You mean Takina?" asked Kari, Tohru nodded slowly, Kari looked down to the floor "Well, Takina... Takina... Died. After the ship capsized, me and my family got within distance of each other, and found each other pretty quickly. We... We never found her..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry" replied Tohru "If there's anything I can do-"

"No, don't worry about it" Kari said, looking back at Tohru "There's nothing anyone can do. This is something no one could change"

"You two comin'?" came Kyo's voice

Tohru and Kaei looked up, everyone else was on the balcony above them. Tohru ushered Kari in front of her "You go first" Tohru said, as Kari began to scramble up the slope; everyone above them had their hand's outstretched to get them up.

By now, others had begun to notice their escape attempt.  
The unwounded began to rush over to the staircase, just as Tohru had begun to climb up.  
People pushed past her, and Tohru fell back onto the ballroom's ceiling, whimpering in pain as she hit the floor.

"TOHRU!" shouted Kyo, immediately throwing himself down the slope to her rescue, as people pushed past him and up the slope.

Kyo hit the floor hard, reaching out and looking for Tohru, it was a sea of legs as people rushed past him in a desperate attempt at escape. He found Tohru on the floor, she screamed as people ran past her, trampling on her in their bid escape.

"Tohru!!" Kyo cried "Reach out and grab my hand!" he called also laid on the floor, his arm outstretched, but she was still a few feet away. It was difficult to see that much, as people were all around them, all scrambling for the same thing; hopeful freedom.

Suddenly, a loud groan erupted from the bowels of the ship. The ballroom began to vibrate violently, as the smaller light fixtures blew their bulbs, and mirrors on the sides of the balcony pillars crashed to the floor and smashed into a thousand tiny pieces, showering themselves on people below. The ballroom erupted in screams, as the cacophony of people ran past to get up the slope.

The ships vibrations worsened, and Kyo stared at Tohru, as she finally emerged from the crowd, crawling up to him.

"We need to get out of here, fast!" screamed Tohru, eventually standing up, and pulling Kyo up, too "Now!"

And with that, they both ran up the slope, Kyo pushed Tohru in front of her, supporting her as the staircase creaked underfoot. Just as Tohru got to the top of the slope, and the others grabbed her and pulled her towards them; the staircase split cleanly in two, and the crowd of people on the staircase fell to the ground.  
Tohru watched in horror as Kyo's flame-red hair disappeared with the crowd.

Tohru screamed "KYO!!! NO!!!" as she ran to the edge looking down on the pile of people and rubble below.  
Just then, the vibrations had caused the windows to shatter; and they began to crack and water began slowly trickling in through the cracks...

(A/N: Hello again! I hop everyone had a lovely Christmas and is looking for ward to a better 2009! I'm sorry, but this will be the last update this year. I'm not gonna promise weekly updates next year, but I'll see what I can do. As for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and can't wait for the next!)


	11. Waterlines

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Eleven  
Waterlines_

Water began to slowly pour into the ballroom. Screaming rang out throughout the room as they ran towards the now collapsed staircase in a bid for freedom. The crowd behind Tohru ran through the door behind them.  
Tohru ran over to the edge, in a desperate attempt to look for Kyo

She looked down, and amazingly, there he was, clinging onto a metal bar the supported the staircase, which lay in a pile of rubble below. He was holding on with one hand, the other was held up, trying to grab the edge of the balcony to heave himself up.

"Kyo!" she screamed "Ohmigod! Grab my hand!! I'll help you up!!"

_  
_She reached out and grabbed Kyo's hand, who grabbed her and pulled himself up

"Ah!" grunted Tohru "You're.. Too heavy" she turned back to the others, who had to stop themselves being pulled away by the over-bearing crowd. "Help me!!!"

They fought their way over the now-thinning crowd rushing past, and helped Tohru drag Kyo up onto the balcony ledge.

"Thank you" said Kyo, out of breath "You really-"

"We don't have time for that now!" shouted Tohru "We need to get out of here, the ballroom is flooding!"

They ran over to the exit. No people remained to run through the doors, everyone else was trapped below. They ran through the door and looked behind them. The door had a sign. They deciphered that it read:

"This is an emergency fire-, water- and gas-leak proof door to seal the room. Break the glass and press the red button to lock this door. If you press the button and it is not in the case of an emergency, it is prosecutable by law."

They looked at one another. Kyo piped up

"If we don't lock this door, then the water will follow us wherever we go" he said, looking at the group, hand raised over the glass "If we don't lock it, we'll die..."

"Just do it," replied Shigure "Quickly, and let's get the hell outta here"

Kyo slammed his fist into the glass, and pressed the red button on the opposite side. A bell rang from the door and the red light overhead began to flash. The door began to close, and the people's screams in the ballroom began to die out as the door finally shut. A locking mechanism was heard as the door was tightly shut in place.  
They looked at each other and began to walk on

Meanwhile, in the ballroom, the windows had began to leak more vigorously, and water was pouring in now. People were panicking and running around, looking for a possible way out. Huge cracks began to form up the length of the windows, as screaming pierced the room. Finally, the windows gave way, and imploded on themselves as water flooded into the ballroom at an alarming rate. People, fallen tables and chairs were swept away in the two waves that met each other in the middle, and slammed against each other. The people had stopped screaming as the water rose over them.  
The lights began to fail as the room was then plunged in darkness, and the ballroom was now flooded completely...

Tohru and the others could only hear the pleading screams of the guests trapped in the flooded ballroom. There was definitely no turning back now. It also served as a huge reminder they had limited time before the ship plunged into the depths of the ocean.

They walked on, turned left and came to the lobby. It rose three decks above them, and four below, under the water. Beneath them, they could see the eerie light coming from the glass dome, drifting through.

"Which way should we go?" asked Kari, looking at the others, and above her

"Well, we're looking for people in the disco, so that's..." said Tohru.

"Two floors above us," interjected Matake, stepping forward.

Everyone immediately looked up at the balcony two floors up.

"Um, wrong way," said Matake, looking down into the water.

"What?" said Tohru, breathlessly "Y-You mean, the disco... Is down there?"

"Exactly," replied Matake, blinking slowly and stepping to the edge "We gotta get outta here" he added, pointing towards the rising waterline.

"N-No!" shouted Tohru, dropping to her knees by the water "T-This can't be happening! I know it's not! T-They made it out, right? Right?!"

She looked down at the watery depths. Were Yuki, Haru and Aya okay? Had they managed to escape? It was too much. She'd lost enough people on this ship. She burst into tears, as the water poured over the edge of the upturned balcony. Everyone else recoiled in fear as the water streamed past their feet. Tohru just stayed there, the water flowing past her. Nothing mattered to her any more.  
The ship had claimed its next three victims...

Kyo grabbed Tohru by the arm "Tohru! We have to leave! NOW!" he shouted, pulling her up "This whole place is flooding! If you don't move, you'll die! No one is worth that risk if they can make it out of here – including you!"

"Don't you see?!" retorted Tohru, pulling her arm away from Kyo "It's useless! No matter where we go, the water will follow us. And what happens if we come to a dead-end? Huh? Ever thought of that?"

Everyone stared at her in disbelief. Kari let out a slight moan, as the water continued to rise "Not to interject the drama, here, but we have to leave, _now_!" she said, walking to the edge of the balcony "Matake, what's the best place to go to get out of here?" she asked, looking up.

"All the way to the top," replied Matake, also walking to the edge, everyone except Tohru and Kyo joined them "It leads to the service corridor to the kitchens, which then goes to the elevator to the engine rooms. We need a way up, though..."

Just then, the _Poseidon_ shuddered, and it seemed as though the ship plunged slightly. The water rose faster than before, and everyone screamed.

"Let's go, now!" shouted Shigure, ushering people to the edge "We need a way up? How will we get up?!"

"Look!" shouted Kari "Across the lobby, it looks like we could use it as a ladder"

A groan roared over their heads, as Kyo sat beside Tohru, who was still knelt by the edge, the water was almost up to her hips now. Kyo looked her in the eyes.

"Tohru, we're gonna make it out of here, I promise," he said, blinking "We _will_ find the others."

"How can you know, though?" asked Tohru, looking back at him

"I can call it a Cat's instinct?" he said, winking.

Tohru smiled, and Kyo pulled her to her feet "Let's go," he said.

The others had begun to swim to a twisted pipe opposite – it seemed perfect for climbing, and it went to where needed to go to escape.  
Shigure was first, then Kari, then Kyo ushered Kari's mother, Chihiro across, who immediately refused. She was too scared to go.

"C'mon!" shouted Kyo "You go or you die!"

Kyo then ushered Tohru into the water. It was icy, and Tohru immediately became soaked from head-to-toe. She gasped as the water fell about her body. She swan to the other side and began to climb the pipe. Kyo then followed.

"Get her to follow you, Harugi!" exclaimed Kyo, looking back at the couple still left behind.

The roof above them roared and groaned again. Everyone else was at the top now, only Chihiro and Harugi still remained.

"Come on, dear," he said, gently pushing his wife to the edge "You go behind me, and you can see how I do it, okay?"

"O-Okay," replied Chihiro, and she fell into the water after her husband

"C'mon, Mom and Dad!" Kari called, almost embarrassed her parents were the last to climb up.

Harugi was considerably quicker than Chihiro, who was still only halfway up when Harugi climbed up on the top with the others.

"C'mon, dear!" shouted Harugi "You're halfway there!"

The groan above them roared overhead again. It finally seemed to make a noise they could recognise; smashing debris. Suddenly, the floor above them caved in, as one of the ships diesel engines slammed through it, and it flew to the ground, smashing part of the balcony the group was stood on, who all jumped back immediately, out of danger.  
There was a scream, a scream that was cut off. And then silence as the engine slammed into the water below. Metal groaned around them.

There was a few seconds of disbelief, before...

"CHIHIRO!!!!" screamed Harugi "CHIHIRO!!!"

"MOM!!!!" screamed Kari, as both of them ran to the edge of the balcony, which was now smaller and had a jagged edge where the engine crashed into it.

The devastation below was unbelievable. Fire encapsulated the water beneath them, the engine was in flames. The metal pipe that had once stood against the balcony had been twisted and bent to the water below, which was now only two decks below them. Kari and Harugi sobbed, as below, the corpse of Chihiro lay. Just another victim of the _Poseidon_.

"We have to keep moving," said Kyo after a while "We gotta go, otherwise this whole place will flood."

"Please, come with us," said Shigure, gently "I'm sure Chihiro would want you to survive this."

"Y-You're right," said Kari, wiping her eyes "We'd best keep on moving."

Both she and Harugi stood up, and looked below to Chihiro's makeshift grave once more, then followed the group into the kitchens ahead...

(A/N: The first update of 2009! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Updates will keep coming, as _Poseidon_ finally comes to its final chapters)


	12. The EverRising Waters

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Twelve  
The Ever-Rising Waters_

The corridor in front them was covered in dense, thick smoke. Choking though it was, they crept down to walk further forward.

"The kitchen is just up ahead," said Matake, as the group shuffled forward

"This smoke is really thick," said Tohru, putting her arm in front of her mouth to stop her breathing in so much.

"We've gotta keep going, though," replied Kyo, who was in front of the group. Tohru was trailing behind him, then Shigure, Matake, Kari and Harugi trailing at the back. The others pulled their shirts up to their faces to prevent more smoke inhalation.

The door up in front of them had an upside-down sign that read '_kitchens_'. The smoke seemed to be coming from the doors. Smoke poured from the bottom of the doors, and seeped through the edges of the doors, and between the doorframe.

"There's either a raging fire in there, or there's been a fire," said Kyo, looking the door up and down.

He grabbed a mop nearby and held it in his hand. Bottles of water and fruit lay scattered on the floor. An upturned food cart lay against the wall; it had obviously flipped and scattered when the ship capsized.

"Tohru," said Kyo, not taking his eyes off the door "Tohru, grab one of those bottles of water, and splash it on the handle of the doors."

"O-Okay..." said Tohru, reaching down and grabbing a bottle. She walked over to the door, and stared at it for a few moments. She then unscrewed the cap of the bottle. She threw the water over the door's handle. It immediately evaporated into steam.

"Okay," said Kyo, still eyeing the door, as Tohru looked at him "Moment of truth. Harugi?"

"Y-Yes?" came the voice of Harugi, who walked beside Kyo.

"Grab that fire extinguisher," said Kyo, pointing towards a fire extinguisher which had fallen from the wall "When I open this door, I want you to _immediately_ begin spraying it."

Kyo prepared himself "Everyone stand back" he added, as Tohru, Kari and Shigure stepped back "Ready, Harugi? 3... 2... 1... Now!"

He flung the doors open with the mop, as Harugi began to spray the exposed part of the kitchen. A wave of heat blasted past them all, but nothing else. The fire had long subsided, as the walls were blackened from the blaze.

They stepped over the threshold, and took in the sight. The kitchens spread out far and wide in front of them. The walls were made of tile, and the floor above them. All white, except the steel fixtures of the fridges, shelves and cookers, most of which had collapsed and fell as the ship capsized. However, now the walls were blackened, and mostly everything in the room had been burnt by the fire that had raged earlier.  
The room had 5 doors leading from it, there was the doorway they were stood in, two doors opposite, one door on the left and one on the right. The door on the right was slightly ajar.

"Which one should we try?" asked Tohru, looking from one door, to another and back again "Matake, which door leads to the.. um... Engine room?"

"I honestly don't know," replied Matake, standing forward of the group, looking from door to door, utter bewilderment on his face, as everyone seemed to openly glare at him "Can you blame me!? I don't work in the engine rooms. I just remember being told that you could reach the engine rooms from this part of the ship. All I know is that above us is one more deck and then the storage deck, then the engine rooms."

"Well, that's no good!" shouted Kyo, standing in front of Matake and at each of the doors in turn "We've gotta try all of 'em, then! Which one should we go in first?-"

Suddenly, crashing erupted from the room to the right, where the door stood open slightly. Overlapping speech was also heard as two men entered the threshold.  
Tattered, bruised and blackened stood Haru and Yuki. There was a moment's silence before...

"Yuki! Haru!!!" and Tohru ran up to them and clung them into a bone-breaking hug "I never thought I'd see you again! I'm so glad you're okay, I was so worried!"

"T-Tohru," began Yuki, squirming slightly trying to unclasp Tohru from him.

"You can let go now," replied Haru, pushing her off the three of them.

"I'm sorry!" said Tohru, the first true smile on her face since the ship had capsized "I'm just so pleased you're okay."

It was then she noticed... "W-Where's Ayame?" she asked, the smile sliding off of her face, as she looked from Haru to Yuki, dreading the response...

"W-We don't exactly know" said Haru, looking from Yuki to Tohru.

"What do you mean?" asked Tohru, taking an exasperated step forward to Haru.

"Whilst the ship was capsizing," said Yuki, Tohru looked at him eagerly "We lost track of Aya. I fell and Haru was clung to a table..." Yuki closed his eyes, trying to remember the details "I then grabbed his hand, but fell into a crowd of people. I only saw Aya when the wave hit the ship. We had no idea a wave was headed for the ship. We heard the alarm, but it was too late..."

"It was too late for everyone," said Tohru, looking wary "Many people didn't make it out of the ballroom in time. So you have no idea at all where Aya could be?"

"Not a clue," said Haru, Yuki stepped forward next to him "We never saw him again after we woke up upside-down."

Just then, two more people walked into the room, from the same door Haru and Yuki had emerged from. They were an older teenage boy, about 19 or 20 and a younger girl, about 11 or 12. The boy was in a torn tuxedo, it had been badly burned on the sleeve, and his face was ripe with sweat and dirt, his short black hair faded into his beard which stretched across his face like a 5 O' Clock shadow.  
The girl clung to the boy, obviously terrified, she was in a tattered pink dress which went past the knee. She had a bandage over her left arm, it was red with blood. She had copper hair and piercing blue eyes. Her breathing was loud and erratic as her eyes darted from person to person.

"We wondered when you'd catch up!" said Haru, patting the boy's back "How's the arm?"

"Better," mumbled the boy, his voice was deep and powerful, yet comforting to the ear.

"Oh, Tohru," said Haru looking at her wondering gaze, "This is Ren, and this is his sister, Tamaka."

"Hello there," said Tohru, holding out a hand, as Ren kissed it politely, Tamaka nodded to Tohru

Tohru then introduced the rest of her party to the others, including Kari and her father, Harugi.  
Kari pushed her shoulder-length chocolate-coloured hair out of her face, her brown eyes staring into Ren's blue ones. She seemed very taken with him, even though she'd met him about five minutes earlier.

"Right, we have to move on" said Matake "This ship isn't going to stay afloat whilst we get cushy here. Let's move."

"Where to, exactly?" asked Kyo, staring at Matake, who was looking at the door to the left "We don't know which way to go! You weren't exactly helping, were you?"

"I'm trying to now!" said Matake, looking back at Kyo "And I'm getting a feeling we need to go this way" he added, pointing to the door on the left.

"Well, we tried this one," said Haru, slamming the door by him shut "And it's a dead-end. It ends with the kitchens' refrigerators. I'm guessing you were just behind us, then!"

"Enough small talk and let's go!" said Matake, walking to the door on the left.

The 10-strong group then walked through the door to the left. Through it was a long corridor, lit only by emergency lighting on the wall to their right. Electricity buzzed around them, as loose power cables swung gently, almost innocently. The group cautiously made their way forward. Doors were dotted randomly along the the left-hand wall. At the end of the corridor, it turned left, and to the right was an open area.  
Kyo was in front, and stopped the group with his hand raised in the air. "Be quiet." he said, and everyone listened intently.

Ever so gently, they heard something. It was definitely a woman. And she was... Sobbing, but only very gently. It seemed to be coming from the open area further along the corridor, so cautiously and warily everyone walked, their footsteps making a gentle "thump" with each step they took.  
The woman's sobs stopped for a moment, and everyone stopped moving, holding their breath collectively.

"Is... Any... One... There?..." she gasped, as though struggling for air "P-Please... Help... Me..." she added, and her soft sobs began again "Please..."

Kyo bound forward, the group in toe behind him.  
Closer and closer the area on the right got, and everyone's hearts pounded in their ribcage, unaware as to what to expect beyond the corner. After what seemed like a 1000-metre run, they can to a halt, as Kyo turned the corner first, the group behind him...

The area opened up to actually be a seating area. The upturned chairs littered the floor. A potted plant lay on the floor, leaves and mud sprawled around its broken base. A vending machine stood bolted to the ceiling. Most of the goods inside it had fallen to the stop of the machine. Next to the bolted machine was a huge rip in the flooring, where the bolts had failed and snapped off.  
That's when they saw her...  
It was a gut-wrenching sight. A woman, in her late 30s was laid on the floor, her blond hair fell limply on her blood-stained face. A vending machine lay on top of her, broken glass littered beneath and around her, most of it covered in blood. Only her face and one hand was visible as she looked up and saw Kyo and the group. They were stood in disbelief.

"Please... Help me..." she sobbed again, looking at Kyo "Please..."

Kyo shook as though a bolt of electricity had shot through him and raced to the woman's aid. "Gimme a hand with this!" he said, putting his hands underneath the machine and bracing himself to pull the machine up. Haru, Yuki, Shigure, Harugi and Ren rushed over to help him, whilst Tohru and Kari went to the woman's side, to comfort her.

"Everyone ready?" asked Kyo, as each man had a part of the machine in his grasp "On three! One..."

Each of them tightened their hold on the machine

"Two..."

"No!" the woman shouted "Don't.... Do it...."

"What? Why?" asked Tohru

"I'm... Too badly... Injured..." said the woman "If... You get... Me out... I'll... Only... Slow you down..."

"We'll help you!" said Tohru, looking optimistic, a small smile on her face

"N-No..." said the woman, looking at each of them in turn "You're all... Okay... Thank you... I won't forget... The help... You... Tried to give me..."

"Wait, no..." said Tohru, pushing the woman's hair out of her eyes, getting blood all over her hands.  
The woman's eyes were closed... She was gone...

Tohru sat there, disbelief washed over her again. Another person hadn't survived. The death toll must surely be in the thousands, as many people were in their rooms.

"Tamaka?!" came Ren's voice out of the blue, his silhouette disappearing down the corridor "Tamaka?! Where are you?!"

He stood down near the 3 elevators at the end of the corridor. His head jerked from side to side as a ear-piercing screamed shot through the corridor. Ren shot backwards and ran down the corridor and out of sight.

"Ren!" shouted Kyo and ran after him. Everyone else followed.

At the end of the corridor, they saw what Tamaka had screamed at. The water level had risen dramatically, and now the upside-down doorframe had water spilling over it, like a small waterfall, it splashed against the floor, beginning the flooding of this corridor.

"We all have to go, now!" shouted Kyo, running in the opposite direction towards the elevators.

Ren grabbed Tamaka and ran with them. They all glanced back, as the water cascaded over the edge of the doorframe, and all ran to the elevators.  
Surely, these would lead to their salvation?

(A/N: Okay, another chapter down! Hope you all enjoy it, as we're reaching the climax of this story! Come back for more soon!)


	13. Sinking Feelings

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Thirteen  
Sinking Feelings_

They stared at the elevator doors in front of them. To the far right was a door labelled "Stairs", however, upon inspection, the stairs had collapsed on themselves, and crashed down to the lower decks. They went for the middle one and began to try and pry open the doors. Nothing would open them. There was nothing around them to help open the doors. Kyo stopped, and looked down the corridor, in the distance they could hear the water piling up by the door, and beginning to spread out amongst the corridor.

Kyo walked towards the end of the corridor. Tohru looked up at his back

"Kyo!" she said, pushing hair out of her face "What're you doing?"

"I'm going back to the kitchens. There's bound to be a knife or something in there to help us." said Kyo, walking down the corridor "Wait here for me." he added, and with that, he ran off.

The others still tried frantically to pry open the doors.

Down the corridor, Kyo walked over the doorframe to the kitchen. Water was rushing in from the lobby area. 'Crap,' Kyo thought, as he began to dredge through the water, looking for anything that may help get them into the elevator shaft. He looked from one side of the room, to the other. Nothing.  
Until he noticed by the stoves that there was a magnetic knife holder. Although no knives were present, surely there'd be one around?  
He kept his search on, looking down into the water for a sign of anything.

Back down the corridor, Tohru and the others we still looking for something to help them, when Kari noticed something.

"Tohru, look!" she shouted, and everyone's eyes immediately shifted to the doorframe of the staircases, which had begun to leak water, which was now almost pouring into the corridor.

"Oh, no!" said Tohru, looking from down the corridor where Kyo had disappeared, to the elevator door they were failing to open, to the leaking doorframe. Either they or Kyo had to hurry now, the corridor would be underwater soon, it was already at their ankles.

Kyo saw something shine on the floor under the water. It was a knife, and a big one at that! He plunged his arm into the cold water and grabbed the knife. He then ran his way to the doorframe. Water had begun to pour in from the lobby, and was spraying everywhere. Kyo slammed the door shut behind him, in an attempt to slow down the water flow.

"Tohru!" shouted Kyo, running over to the elevator doors "Tohru! I've got a knife. Get out the way!"

Everyone immediately shifted away from the doors, as Kyo plunged the knife into the crack between them. He gathered all his strength and twisted the knife to the right, prizing the doors open, in which Ren and Harugi grabbed each end of the door and pulled them apart.

Water poured down the elevator shaft, down about ten floors until it met the roof of the shaft, which was littered with debris. They all looked down at the bottom. Water was dripping from other floors as well; a sign they too were flooding?

"We need to get to the higher levels!" said Matake, looking around "There's a storage deck one deck up from here."

"We need something to get us up there, then," said Kyo, looking around the corridor, which had slowly gotten darker, as lights had begun to fail.

He ran back down the corridor, checking rooms for anything that could assist them up the elevator shaft. He checked one room, nothing; he checked another, nothing; one room was locked. He checked the last room; the door leading to the kitchen was beginning to sag under the weight of the water; it was creaking slightly as water poured around the edges.  
In the last room, however, there was a stainless steel bench. It was something, at least; so he grabbed it and ran back to the group.

"Hey! Hey, give me a hand with this!" he shouted, as Ren and Harugi ran over to help.

They turned the bench upside down and propped it up against the other side of the elevator shaft.

"Someone will have to hold it whilst the others get across," he said, looking around the group "So, I'll hold it. Ren, I want you to go first and help the others get up onto the ledge."

Ren nodded, and stood up straight, looking out of the elevator doors.

"Okay," said Kyo, wiping his forehead with his arm. "Send Tamaka and Tohru first."

And with that, Kyo held the bench with all his might. Ren slowly got up onto the bench and walked across the bench, and he propped open the doors one floor above them with the knife used to open the others. He climbed up and pushed the doors open completely.

"What kind of room is it?" asked Kyo, looking up at him.

"It's like a storage room." replied Ren, looking around.

"It's the mailer's room," piped up Matake, looking up "It's a corridor away from the storage decks."

"And that means...?" asked Kyo, looking at him.

"It means that we go through there," said Matake, almost patronisingly "And down the corridor. After that, there's a hatch to get into the storage decks. There's two of them, and then it's the engine rooms; which, hopefully hold an exit for us."

"Okay, come on, Tamaka!" he shouted, and held out a hand.

Tamaka gasped slightly, walking forward, and taking hesitant steps forward, and onto the bench.

"Nice and slowly, now." said Kyo, steadying it with his hand.

"Be careful, Tamaka!" said Ren, looking anxious as he watched his sister draw closer to him.

The group almost held their breath collectively as Tamaka finally made it to the other side, and Ren hoisted her up with him. "Okay, come on, Tohru!" he shouted, as Tohru stepped forward.

Tohru gulped. And closed her eyes for a second, as she took a footstep forward, and opened her eyes slowly. She walked forward, keeping her eyes unblinkingly on Ren constantly as she walked, who only stared back. It seemed to take an eternity, but eventually made it.  
Ren pulled her up, and Tohru climbed up, panting slightly, and looking back down the shaft.

And eventually, one by one, everyone made it across. Next it was Kari, then Yuki, Haru, Shigure, Matake.  
Only Kyo and Harugi were left now.

"Okay," said Kyo looking at Harugi "You next."

"No," he said "You go first, I'll hold onto this" he added, holding onto the bench's legs.

"Okay, if you're truly sure..." said Kyo, looking down, then up to the others.

"I'm sure," replied Harugi, looking at Kyo and giving a weak smile.

Water was now pouring its way into the shaft now, as the water was coming around the corner more ferociously than before. There was a creak in the background, and a snapping sound cut the air; the door had collapsed.  
Water came pouring around the corner, splashing into the open area and flying back towards them.

"You'd best hurry," said Harugi, looking anxiously at Kyo.

"Okay," said Kyo, and he climbed up onto the bench and began walking across.

He reached the end, and the others pulled him up. He turned over and looked at Harugi, who had let go of the bench, water still pouring in behind him.

He muttered something to himself, and edged his way across the bench.  
He was about halfway across when it happened.  
Suddenly, the ship roared all around them, and the ship lurched violently. Everyone swayed violently as they fell backwards.  
They heard the sound of scraping metal, and a scream. Harugi's scream. They heard a splash as they all scrambled over and looked over they edge.  
Harugi had fallen down the elevator shaft. However, since the shaft had begun to flood, he had fallen into the water.

"Help!" he cried, looking up, trying to keep himself up, as water continually poured into the space.

"DAD!!" shouted Kari, tears pouring from her eyes "What can we do?!" she asked the others.

"I don't know!" said Kyo, looking down.

Suddenly the ship lurched again, the others were thrown backwards again.  
A crashing sound came from below them. Tohru got up and stared down, as water poured from the deck they were just on and into the elevator shaft. Debris littered the water as it plummeted into the elevator shaft.

"We have to close these doors!" shouted Kyo, standing up and beginning to push the doors shut.

"NO!" shouted Kari, standing in front of them, arms pushing them open again. "My dad is still in there! We gotta save him!"

"It's hopeless!" shouted Ren, guiding Tamaka behind him "He's more than likely dead already!"

"No! He will still be alive!" said Kari, a note of poison in her voice now.

The ship lurched again, more violently than ever as the ship almost rolled, as the others were thrown into the wall. Kari screamed.  
They heard a loud crash and splash, as something grey flew down past the doors and smashed into the water. The ship shuddered slightly afterwards, as the group gathered themselves together, and looked at the elevator doors. They looked in disbelief.

"Kari?" asked Tohru, looking around, holding her head.

Tohru walked forward and looked, hesitantly, over the edge.  
She didn't see much, as the elevator that had once ridden up and down this shaft had now slammed downwards into the water; obviously crushing the bodies of Kari and Harugi.  
The elevator itself had begun to sink into the water, as the waterline continued to rise; the water still pouring relentlessly into the elevator shaft.

Tohru fell back slightly, holding a hand to her face. "No," she kept muttered to herself "No, no, no, no."

"Tohru," said Kyo, grabbing Tohru's arm and pulling her towards him "C'mon, we have to shut these doors."

"No," said Tohru, tears falling down her face.

Kyo and Ren grabbed one of the doors and pushed them together.

"This will slow the water flow," said Kyo, looking at the doors up and down "But it won't hold for long. We need to keep moving. C'mon... Let's go."

Tohru still stood there, how could the _Poseidon_ keep taking lives?  
Kyo pulled her away, and they walked down the corridor.  
A question rose into Tohru's mind:

"Do you think we're the only people left alive?" she asked, stopping in her track, as the left the mailer's room and shut the door behind them.

"What do you mean?" asked Shigure, looking back.

"Haru? Yuki?" Tohru asked, as they turned to look at her "After the ship capsized, was there anyone else alive in the disco when you got back up?"

"No," said Yuki, a glum look on his face.

"There was one guy," said Haru, looking at Yuki, then Tohru "But, he passed away when he got..."

Tohru stared at him, as he shifted uncomfortably.

"... Electrocuted... By low-hanging cables."

"Oh," said Tohru, looking down "I guess we _are_ the only ones left..."

"You don't know that," said Kyo, still keeping his hold on Tohru "Aya is still out there, remember?"

Everyone shifted awkwardly at what Kyo had said. They stood there in silence, as the ship grumbled softly around them.

"We'd best keep going," said Kyo, leading the way.

Everyone muttered in agreement, as they continued to follow him down the corridor, to the storage decks.

(A/N: Okay, a little later than expected... Oops, anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Wait up for the next one! See who else dies XD)


	14. Storage Deck One

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Fourteen  
Deck One_

They walked through the corridor, passing a sign saying "Storage Deck One".

"This must be it," Kyo muttered, more to himself than anyone else as he reached the door.

The door, like the others, was upside down. It was a solid-steel door. The handle was located in the middle of the door, like a safe. Below them, near the top-part of the door was an upside down sign; which read "Storage Deck One – Authorised Personnel Only".

"Yeah, it is," replied Matake, who had heard him "Through there is Storage Deck One, then up one floor is Storage Deck Two."

Kyo tried the door; it wouldn't budge.

"What the-?" said Kyo, looking the door up and down "Is there a way into this thing?" he asked, looking over at Matake..

Matake nodded slowly, "Yeah," he said "But it's got a PIN-code."

"Well?" asked Ren, looking over, Tamaka behind him, looking from behind his waist.

"Well what?" asked Matake, staring at Ren.

"What's the _code_?" asked Kyo, closing his eyes in frustration.

"I don't know," said Matake, everyone gave a frustrated sigh.

"What d'ya mean you don't know the code?" asked Kyo, forcing a calm into his voice "You're _work_ on this ship!"

"I don't work in the engine rooms!" said Matake, shrugging "The codes vary."

"Well, try your code!" said Kyo, stepping back, revealing the little box in which a code must be typed.

"How am I to know if it's the right code?" asked Matake, looking at Kyo.

"_Try_ and you'll _see_ if it's the right code or not," said Kyo, through gritted teeth.

"You do realise there's a limit on how many times you can enter a wrong code, right?" asked Matake, looking around the group.

"What?" asked Tohru "So you mean, if you get it wrong a certain amount of times..."

"That's right," said Matake, nodding at Tohru "If you don't enter a correct code in three tries, the door locks itself and an alarm tells the Bridge someone's trying to get in."

"Damn high-tech security!" shouted Kyo, pounding his fist into the door.

"It's because there's valuable things in there," said Matake, "But don't worry, we can't get in trouble if that happens – the Bridge is underwater."

Tohru looked up swiftly "So what're we supposed to do if the door locks?"

"We have to find another way around it," said Matake, a stern look on his face.

"It'll be too late by then," said Tohru "We need the right code now. Matake, I think you should enter your code. You're the only one with an actual code for the ship; it may actually work."

"Are you sure?" said Matake, looking at Tohru "It could potentially be disastrous if it _is_ a wrong code."

"What other choice do we have?" asked Shigure, looking stern himself "Go on, Matake. We won't blame you if it is a wrong code."

Matake nodded, then got to his knees. He entered his 6-digit pin code into the machine. It beeped. Nothing happened.  
The group stood there in disbelief. One of the actual pin codes didn't work.

"Dammit!" shouted Haru, hitting his palm with his fist "Hey, Matake. Does that pin code belong to you, and you only?"

"Yeah, everyone has their own pin codes – so the bosses can track our movements." said Matake, looking up at Haru.

"Shit," said Haru, looking down the corridor "With over seven-hundred staff on board, that means there are over seven-hundred combinations."

"And only two chances left," said Yuki sullenly.

Suddenly, the door began to churn. Everyone looked up immediately as the door grinded, shuddering in its frame.

"It's the safety mechanism!" said Matake, rushing to the door.

"What do you mean?" asked Yuki looking at the door suspiciously.

"If a power cut comes over the ship, all safety measures are taken," said Matake, turning the round handle of the door "Basically, all locked doors, such as this one, becomes unlocked, as to not accidentally lock people in."

"What caused it to do it this time?" asked Tohru, looking anxiously at the door.

"More than likely the rising water," replied Matake, finally stopping turning the handle "Okay, let's go."

"Wait!" said Tohru, as Matake was about to pull the handle. He looked at her "W-What if the water's on the other side of that door?" she asked, looking at him.

"Then we'll see," said Haru, looking over "Matake, open it."

And Matake swung the door outward to let them in. Water, no higher than knee level poured out and over the edge of the frame.

"Crap!" shouted Matake, recoiling from the water "This room is flooded."

Kyo ran inside and looked around. The others watching with caution as he turned his head side to side, scanning the room.

"It's safe." he said, signalling them to come in "The water hasn't leaked in here. Lock the door when you come through – to stop the water catching up with us."

"We can't, remember?" said Matake, pulling the door shut behind him "I can lock it, but sealing it requires power functions again. Locking it won't stop water flooding into here."

With that, he slammed the door. Storage Deck One was a vast room, about two decks in height. It was organised like a library, which huge boxes stack atop one another, all protected with a cloth mesh fence. Each was organised into its own row, and ran the length of the room.  
In quite a lot of places, the cloth mesh fence had snapped, and boxes had spilled out onto the floor, smashed and spread their contents everywhere. In some places, it was almost impossible to get passed.

"Okay," said Matake, looking around. "We need to look for another door similar to the one we just came through. That leads to a staircase which rises up to Storage Deck Two."

"Do we have to go through Storage Deck Two?" asked Tohru, looking ahead to Matake

"Yes," he replied, turning and looking back "Storage Deck One and Two both are connected, and we need to go through Storage Deck Two to get to the engine rooms. It's more of a design flaw than a convenience."

"Wait," said Yuki, stepping forward "I thought you said you never came through here. How do you suddenly know the anatomy so well?" he asked, a glare upon his face.

"I may not know all the secrets of the _Poseidon_," said Matake, squaring up to Yuki "But I _have_ to know the general layout, in case of emergencies, or I'm sent down here for whatever reason."

With that, Yuki nodded, muttering "Continue" as Matake turned back around to figure a way out. By now, everyone was shuddering in the freezing water, and decided to make their way. They had no idea where the door was, so began their search at one end.  
They made their way through the room. All sticking together as they tried to overcome the various obstacles they faced – be it broken boxes, or a dead end. After about 15 minutes, they managed to get to one of the biggest boxes and found the door behind it. The water had risen slightly, as it was just past the knees. They still needed to get over the box, so they devised a plan.

"Right, Kyo, you go to the top of the box, Ren and I will help you up. Watch out for the splintered wood and such, we don't need more casualties," said Matake, looking around the group "After that, we'll begin helping people up to you, in which you'll help them over the top and to the other side. Okay?"

"Yes," replied Kyo, nodding.

And with that, they hoisted Kyo up onto the unstable box top, which had shattered and collapsed partially. They began to send people over one by one. Tohru first, then Yuki, then Haru, Shigure was just on his way up when a groan was heard over by the door on the other side of the room. A huge clang pounded their ears. Another noise filled it as well. The noise of running water. Fast water.  
They hurried their efforts, as water poured around the corner, almost deluging them.

"Hurry!" shouted Matake, ushering everyone else up the box.

"Tamaka?" shouted Ren, looking around him "TAMAKA!"

Tamaka was nowhere to be seen. In front of them lay the huge box, behind them a corner with water pouring around it. Ren made to run back, but Matake grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Are you _crazy_?!" he shouted, as water continued to pound them "You'll be _killed_ going back there! The water's rising too fast, we need to get out of here, _now_!!"

Ren shook his head violently "I'm not going anywhere without her!" and he ran back, shouting "Tamaka!!" as he went.

"Matake!" shouted Kyo from above the box "Come on! We gotta get outta here! This whole place is flooding!"

Matake jumped up onto some of the makeshift ledges on the box's disintegrating side and reached up to Kyo's hand. The water was rising fast, it was waist-deep now as Kyo and Matake made their way to the steel door. The rest of the group had already gone through and waited for them.  
Tohru looked at them.

"Where's Ren and Tamaka?" she asked.

"Tamaka went missing," said Matake.

"And Ren was stupid enough to run back to try and find her," said Kyo, as he and Matake began to push the door shut.

"WAIT!" came a cry from the other side of the door.

Ren came bursting through, completely drenched, and out of breath. He clutched at his sides from the stitch he'd received from running.  
Kyo and Matake then slammed the door shut. Locking it behind them.

"She-She's gone," said Ren, walking up part of the staircase and sitting on one of the stairs, head in his arms "I couldn't find her anywhere."

Tohru sat next to him, putting her hand on his shoulders "It's okay," she said softly.

"It's not," said Ren "I told my parents I'd look after her. That was their dying wish – for me to look after her, and she's gone."

"Your parents have died on the ship as well?" asked Tohru.

"Yeah, we were in our room when the ship capsized," said Ren, looking at Tohru "Luckily we were on the lowest floor for cabins; I'm not sure of the Deck number, but ours was the first room on the left... When the ship capsized... my parents were thrown across the room... and over their bed, which then broke free from the wall... and crushed them both... I was in the corridor at the time. I jumped down into the room while the ship was on its side... And they told me 'Look after Tamaka.'... And I promised them I would, and now... She's gone..."

Silence awaited the end of his sentence, as Tohru's hand had moved to over his shoulder. She had tears in her eyes as she hugged Ren.

"It'll be okay," she said, letting him go.

They sat their in a moment's silence when it was suddenly broken by a scream. The faint words "Ren! Ren! Help me!" could be heard, as Ren shot up.

"She's alive!" he shouted, running back to the door "TAMAKA! I'M COMING!" he bellowed, grasping the handle.

Matake shoved Ren out of the way "Are you _crazy_?!" he shouted, standing in front of the door "That room is _flooding_ at an alarming rate! If we opened this door now, it wouldn't close because of the force of the water."

"Move." said Ren, his voice almost poisonous "I need to get my sister."

"No." replied Matake, standing his ground, sweat falling down his forehead, and off the end of his nose.

"If you don't move, I'll _make_ you move," said Ren, clenching his fists.

"I'm not letting you take our lives to save your sister." replied Matake, still standing his ground "It's practically a death sentence for us all to go back now."

Suddenly, a piercing scream shot through the room. Swiftly followed was the sound of snapping cloth, and shattering boxes. It fell silent and water still pounded the door. Ren looked stunned, and shoved Matake out of the way.

"TAMAKA!" he bellowed, pounding the door with his fists "DON'T WORRY TAMAKA! I'M COMIN' FOR YA!"

There was no reply, just as the water continued to pound the door. Ren slowed his tirade of punches at the door. Tears gliding off his cheeks and into the water below them at waist height. They all stood there for a moment or two. It was Matake who broke the silence, as the water on the other side of the door had stopped making such a noise (a sign it was completely full of water?)

"We should really keep going," he said softly.

Ren nodded, his eyes red and puffy, and he turned to walk up the stairs with the others, looking, for one final time at the door where his sister's body lay on the other side as they climbed up to Storage Deck Two.

(A/N: Okay, dramatic chapter, I know. I decided to give Ren a bit of a background here. I'm not sure if I've mentioned anything about his family before? If I have, then tell me and I'll alter it xD  
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and expect the next one (hopefully) soon!)


	15. Storage Deck Two

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Fifteen  
Storage Deck Two_

The stairway to Storage Deck Two was very basic. The walls were grey and high, and a few lamps lit the dank space. The staircase itself was a black, steel one, which swayed slightly as the group ascended the stairs. They had to be careful not to go too close to the edges, as they were not protected by a barrier.

They climbed the four flights of stairs and came up to a door similar to that of the door for Storage Deck One. Since the main power had been knocked out now, the door opened.

"We have to hurry now," said Matake, in almost a whisper "the main power generators have been shut down, these lights and basic electronics are running on battery power, which lasts only hours."

They stepped over the threshold of Storage Deck Two, to a see a scene similar to that of Storage Deck One; a mess. Again, there was the library-like wall-to-ceiling shelves, all packed with boxes in them, protected by a cloth-mesh fence. And again, in places some of the cloth-mesh fencing had snapped under the weight of the boxes during the capsizing and had spilled the contents to the floor.  
They walked cautiously to the other side of the room, without much trouble, especially compared to that of Storage Deck One.  
They did come to some dead ends, however, as this room was just as big as the previous one.  
All was calm in this room, which was very unnerving as they clambered over the collapsed boxes to reach the door to supposed safety.

They eventually came to the door. It looked as though it had been blasted open by something. It was severely disfigured, and wouldn't even fit into its frame properly; not a good sign.

"Okay, we have to keep going, come on," said Kyo, leading the group out of Storage Deck Two and into a dank, dirty corridor.

Lights were again on the floor, and ran the length of the corridor. They periodically sparked and fluttered on and off again. Trace amounts of water were also evident below them, as they proceeded down the corridor, sometimes their feet made a soft splashing sound.  
Doors were on each side, and were a few feet apart.

"Where are we? Which way do we go now?" asked Kyo, looking at Matake; the rest of the group doing the same.

"We're in the crew quarters. Anyway, the engine rooms are just above us," replied Matake "if we can somehow get up there, there are propeller tubes known as bow thrusters which _could_ lead to helping us get out of here."

"Wait, a sec," said Haru, looking at Matake "what do you mean 'could'?"

"Well," replied Matake, a sweat drop running the length of his face "There's always a chance there's no chance of escaping that way."

"What?" breathed Tohru, holding a hand to her chest.

"Look," said Matake, holding out his hands "I've never said I could guarantee we could get out of here. I've never once said 'There is definitely a way out', have I?"

"So, you've been leading us on?" said Yuki, disgust plastered on his face.

"No," replied Matake "I merely came with you, to help you with the ship's anatomy, and to a possible escape. No one here has been guaranteed to get out, not even me."

"He's got a point," said Ren "we need to keep our hopes up that _hopefully_ there'll be someone, or something to help us get out."

The ship rocked slightly, and the group began to slip down the corridor. Items began to shift down the corridor as well.

"What's happening?!" shouted Tohru, clinging to a fire hose to stop herself falling.

"The ships beginning to sink!" shouted Matake "the stern has sunk under the water! We gotta get going, now!"

And they began to run, against the rising bow of the ship. They began to slip and slide as the trickles of water began to splash down the corridor.  
And suddenly, ahead of them, a wall of water was making its way down the corridor.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!!" shouted Matake, throwing himself into a nook in the corridor.

The group ran into doors and opened them and into the rooms to avoid the oncoming wave of water.  
They heard the water slam past them and crash into the other side of the corridor, further down. As quickly as it had happened, it was over.  
They slowly crept out of their hiding places, to see the bow had been drained of water completely.

"Okay," said Matake, taking in a deep breath "we can get moving, and quickly!"

"Wait!" said Tohru, looking around the six of them "w-where's Shigure?"

Indeed it seemed Shigure was nowhere to be seen. Ren looked down the corridor, and began to walk forwards.

"Shigure!" shouted Tohru, hands to her mouth, which made no difference to the loudness of her voice "Shigure, come out now! It's safe!"

"Tohru!" shouted Ren, from further down the corridor, waving frantically to get their attention.

The five of them ran over to Ren's side, to see Shigure's lifeless body, at the edge of the water, face up, his eyes closed, not breathing.

Tohru dropped to her knees next to Shigure. "Shigure?" she asked, wiping the hair out of his face "Shigure!" She began to shake him. "Shigure, wake up!" she shouted, shaking him more violently.

Ren gently nudged Tohru aside, and began administering CPR onto Shigure; beating down on Shigure's chest with his hands, and blowing air into his open mouth.  
After a couple of minutes, still nothing had happened, Shigure remained as lifeless as he had done when they found him.

"Tohru..." Ren began, finally stopping the administration of CPR "I'm afraid-"

"No!" shouted Tohru, clinging around Shigure's neck "I won't believe it! Shigure wake up!" She cried the last part, trailing off and sobbing.

Kyo, Yuki and Haru all fell to their knees. Another one of their party taken by the _Poseidon's_ unending and mighty wrath.

Ren and Matake looked sombre. They sat there in quiet appreciation, as the ship groaned and creaked around them, still continuing its journey to the bottom of the ocean.  
Finally, it was Matake who spoke.

"You do know we need to move on," he said solemnly, putting a hand on Tohru's shoulders "this ship isn't gonna stop sinking until it's hit the ocean floor."

Tohru nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. She kissed Shigure's cold forehead "G'night," she whispered softly to him. Kyo, Yuki and Haru all said their goodbyes, and slowly, but surely, the group began to once again make their way across the corridor.

"There should be a hatch of some sort to get into the engine room above us," said Matake, looking above him, everyone else doing the same "Just look for a hatch."

"There was a hatch in the _floor_ of the crew quarters to the engine rooms?" asked Tohru, looking slightly disgusted "surely the noise is unbearable?"

"Nah, it's not that bad," replied Matake, still eyes upon the ceiling "it's only there to make it more convenient for the crew who work down there." he added "Oh, here we go!"

They all looked up at the same spot; where a hatch was wedged in a tiny gap in the wall, to stop people accidentally tripping over it. It was shut tight, and there was no ladder to help them up.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Ren, looking around the group.

"I tell you what," said Kyo, standing directly underneath the hatch "we'll just-"

He was cut off as the wheel on the hatch began to twist, with an all-mighty squeak. It fell open and a body dropped to the floor. Everyone screamed as Tohru ran to Kyo's aid.

"Oops, sorry about that..." said an all too familiar voice.

It wasn't until they looked long enough to see that Ayame was there. Stood right there. Like a knight in shining armour.  
The group was dumbfounded.

"A-Aya!" shouted Tohru, suddenly feeling as though she'd been hit in the face "Ayame! You're alive!"

And Yuki, Haru, and even Kyo hugged him. There were tears in their eyes.

"We didn't think you'd made it," said Yuki, pulling away and wiping the tears out of his eyes "that's why we left."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Ayame, his tone of superiority suddenly taking over "it is _I_ who should apologise to you. You see, after the _Poseidon_ capsized, I was thrown away from both Haru and Yuki. I got trapped under a table, which was on the ceiling, and called for help from a group of survivors, who were making their way out. They happily obliged, and we've been searching for a way out since."

"You never bothered to come back for us?" asked Yuki, looking at Aya.

"I did look for you," began Ayame "but the group urged me onwards, and plus I couldn't find you anywhere from where I was."

"Well, we _were_ unconscious," said Haru, folding his arms "and Yuki _was_ under a pile of people, whilst I was under a a metal rigging."

"See?" replied Aya "I never would've found you."

"Can we continue this conversation _after_ we've left the ship?" asked Tohru, the others nodded in agreement. "Anyway, Aya. How many people are in your group?"

"Well," said Aya "There's only four of us now. Many of our party..."

"It's okay," said Tohru, putting a hand on Aya's shoulder "People from our party have died as well." With that, she slowly nodded down the corridor, to Shigure's lifeless body. Aya shuddered with shock.

"Shigure?" he asked, running over to Shigure's body "Shigure! No, this can't be!" And he stopped, looking over at Tohru "And... Ha'ri... And... Ritsu...?"

"Both of them died during the ship's capsizing," replied Tohru, tears welling up in her eyes.

Aya sobbed, hitting a fist on Shigure's body. "No!" he screamed "This isn't happening!"

Tohru walked over to him and gently held his hand "There's nothing we can do," she said sympathetically "we have to keep going on. After all, it's what the others would want."

"Yes," replied Aya, standing up, still looking at Shigure "You're quite right." his tone changed to one of authority "Right! Come along gang, we must get out of this God-forsaking ship!"

With that, three people descended from the hatch, two girls, and a boy. All roughly about seventeen to twenty five in age.  
The all looked extremely panic-stricken. The slightest noise would make them all jump, and their heads would immediately scan the room quickly to check where it had come from.

Whilst Tohru began to walk over to the hatch, Aya walked over to the door of Storage Deck Two. Tohru stopped, so did Aya as they looked quizzically at one another.

"Aya," asked Tohru "where are you going? The exit is the way you just came."

"That way is a dead end," replied Aya, beginning to open the deformed door "We need to go back and take the alternate route."

"Aya, wait!" said Kyo, running over and shutting the door again "That way is-"

Suddenly, the ship vibrated violently, the lights flashing on and off again. They all screamed as the people in Aya's party ran to the door, screaming "This is the way!"

They forced open the door, and ran through Storage Deck Two, as the lights flickered into life and out. Tohru and her group ran after them, screaming "NO! WAIT! IT'S FLOODED!". But the group carried on relentless, as the sound of metallic groaning and creaking roared around them.  
They ran down the stairs past Storage Deck Two, and came to a just-over-waist-high waterline. They began to turn the wheel of the room, as Tohru shot through, screaming.

"WAIT!" she screamed with all her might "THAT ROOM IS FLOODED! YOU'LL KILL US ALL!!!"

But it was too late, the door swung open, knocking the three people into the wall, crushing them. Water poured into the room, literally up the first two flights of stairs in seconds, and continued to climb up at an alarming rate.

Tohru ran through Storage Deck Two, slamming the door to the staircase behind her, screaming.

"THEY OPENED THE DOOR!!" she screamed, running to meet the others "They opened the door we have to move NOW!!!"

They heard a loud bang behind them, and the sound of rushing water.

"CLOSE THIS DOOR!" shouted Kyo, slamming it shut, as water poured through the gaps.

"It'll never hold!" shouted Ren, turning the wheel on the door.

"Quick, into the hatch!" shouted Kyo. Pushing everyone along.

The water began to pour through more violently now. Hitting the other side of the corridor with extreme force.

"That way is a dead end!" shouted Aya to Kyo.

"What other choice do we have?!" shouted Kyo, ushering everyone over to the hatch "You stay here, you die! We'll find a way!"

Matake had hoisted Tohru, Ren, Yuki, Haru, Aya then Kyo, before everyone reached down to grab him. Suddenly, the door burst open. Matake screamed as a colossal wall of water headed directly for him.  
He gave one final scream as the water pounded him in his side, sweeping him away instantly, as the barrage of water ran past them.  
Tohru screamed as they slammed the hatch shut; the water pouring into the room below still vividly heard.  
The group were shaking. What had just happened? The ship was in its final moments of being above sea level, and they still had the engine rooms to navigate. Without the help of Matake, they would have to rely on maps to aid them out of the bowels of the ship.

"The only way is on," said Kyo, as they entered a door, into the vast engine rooms.

(A/N: Okay, action-packed chapter there! Hope you all enjoyed it! I know I'm mean for killing the cast off, I'm sorry! Okay, we're into the final run of _Poseidon_ now. I think after about four more chapters (ish) that will be it! Phew, it's been a ride like no other! Anyway, check back for more!)


	16. The Engine Room

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Sixteen  
The Engine Room_

They past through the door, and came into an annexe before the engine room. The room was quite small and plain, a few computer-looking things were mounted to the walls. In front of them was a cast-iron door, with a words etched into it, depicting "Engine Room A". Kyo prised open the door, and before them was a vast room spanning the width of the whole ship. Boilers lined the floor above them, some which had collapsed, and fallen to the ceiling.  
The walls were dark and dingy, and there was a definite smell of burning in the air; dark clouds of smoke hung overhead, swirling almost majestically. There was obviously a fire nearby.  
The problem was, they couldn't move on; the room was two floor's high, and below them was a sheer drop to the ceiling below.  
The group were still in shock of the fresh deaths of Shigure and Matake. Shigure, the man who had helped Tohru when she was down-and-out, and offered his home to her.  
And Matake, a mild-mannered, yet kind guy, who had helped them thus far out of the bowels of the ship.

They stared hopelessly around the room. It was huge, and there were many possible ways to get where they needed to go. The problem was, they didn't know what they were looking for.

"Now what?" asked Kyo, holding a hand to his head "There must be a way outta this ship!"

Tohru looked down, the drop seemed enormous. Just above them was the grid-walkway, there was a rail opposite them, protecting the edge of the walkway.

"Maybe," she began, speaking slowly as she formed the sentence "we could somehow jump and hang onto that rail, and climb our way down?" this was met with quizzical looks "What? I mean look, the railing goes all the way down to the ceiling! We could get outta here faster if we do that!"

Ren looked next too him, where an upside-down map of the ship was screwed to the wall. He scanned the engine room potion of the ship, it was then he noticed it.

"Hey, guys, look," he said, pointing to something on the map.

The group looked, to see he was pointing to the portion of the engine room they were in; Engine Room A. It had a little arrow depicting "You Are Here", and just to the right of them, in a separate room were three circular holes in the hull. The bow thruster room was just across the same walkway they were talking about.

"C'mon, we have to go across that gangway now," said Haru, looking out to it, looming before them.

"Looks like we have no other choice..." replied Yuki, stepping forwards toward the door.

"Okay, be careful, now, Yuki!" shouted Aya, patting his brother's back, which was more like a push to make him go first.

"Thanks, Aya," said Yuki, barely smiling at his older brother.

Yuki, breathed a deep, shuddering sigh as he stood by the edge of the door.

"Remember, all you have to do is climb onto the barrier, and hoist yourself up onto the top of the walkway," said Ren "it's safer than shimmying the whole way."

Yuki lent forward, and jumped slightly. Tohru gasped as he grabbed hold of the barrier, and pulled himself onto the upside-down walkway.

"Okay, someone else come!" came Yuki's voice just above them; they could see him through the gaps in the walkway.

Kyo nodded to Ren, who then climbed up. They continued one by one, up until it was only Tohru and Kyo left.

"Tohru, you go first," said Kyo, turning to her "I'll help you up."

"Oh, okay," said Tohru, shaking slightly with fear as she dried her hands onto her dress. She shuddered a sigh, and Kyo helped her up onto the bar.

The group helped her up onto the walkway, as she breathed quite heavily, it was terrifying looking down, and seeing a sheer drop below you. They looked around them. The bow thruster room was almost directly near them. The problem was, which route to take?  
The walkway spread out in front of them, and snaked its way along the wall, and branching out in random places.

"Let's go this way," said Kyo, pointing in the most obvious route to take.

They began to walk along the unstable walkway, which shuddered in its wall brackets. Every so often, someone would slip, needing pulling back up onto the walkway.  
They walked in hurried silence, all the while desperate to get to the bow thruster room, and out of the Poseidon once and for all.

They came up to the door, which, was just above them, at about the height of two people up.

"Damn those assholes for building this ship so big!" shouted Kyo, punching the wall, which clanged and echoed around them loudly.

The smoke seemed to have intensified during their expedition, and hung even lower than before.

"Right, Tohru," said Kyo, indicating his shoulders "You get up onto my shoulders, and pull yourself up into the other room, okay?"

"Wait!" shouted Ren, stepping forward "Let me go first, who knows what's on the other side."

"Okay, good idea," replied Kyo, smiling at Ren, and then at Tohru.

With that, Ren pulled himself onto Kyo's shoulders, and with an almighty grunt, Kyo placed Ren eye-level with the bow thruster room door.  
Ren struggled to open the door, but eventually it creaked open.  
Tohru looked below her, and just realised the water line had increased dramatically.

"Guys! We have to be quick, the water's rising beneath us!" she shouted, as the others looked below them.

And sure enough, they could tell the water level was rising, the ruined boilers on the ceiling of the ship were now completely submerged in the sea water, and they could see the level rising around the edges of the Engine Room.

With that, Ren jumped off Kyo's shoulders and into the bow thruster room.

"It's okay!" came his voice "start sending people up!"

And with that, they hoisted people up into the bow thruster room. It took a while, and the ship had once again become unstable, and began to rock, as parts of the engine room began to spontaneously explode, either due to fuel, or sparks.

They slammed the engine room door shut, and locked it behind them. They were stood on the ceiling of the bow thruster room, but, there was an edge in front of them, where it dramatically shot down, in which three huge tubes stood before them.  
It was like a God-send, and the group cheered as their hours of savaging through the bowels of the ship had paid off finally.

Suddenly, an explosion behind them signalled they needed to carry on, they weren't out of the clear yet.

(A/N: I thought I'd cut it there, hopefully, you're all sticking with this to the very end! There's about 3 chapters, I may extend that to four, to round it to a nice, even 20. Anyway, watch out for the next update, coming very soon!)


	17. Bow Thrusters

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Seventeen  
Bow Thrusters_

"We need to get to those tubes," said Kyo, looking below them, where water flooded the bottom part of the ship.

Alarms and sirens were blasting out nearby. Kyo ran over to them, and looked at what was causing all the commotion. He looked over the electronic equipment near him, and read a red flashing sign that said:  
"Fuel Delivery Problems – Engine Shut Down".

"What's that mean?" he muttered to himself.

Tohru joined him, reading the text "What's it mean, Kyo?" she asked.

"I think it means the bow thrusters aren't on," he replied, slowly "meaning we _should_ be able to get out."

"That's great!" she exclaimed, and told the others the good news.

They applauded and hugged, thanking God that finally, things seemed to be going their way.

They clambered down the edge of the ceiling, and onto another walkway, which lead to the first propeller tube. They ran up the steps, to hear a gentle humming coming from outside of it.

"What's that noise?" asked Tohru, placing her ear against the tube.

The group did the same. The tube was warm to the touch. A gentle humming drifted through the metal, meaning only one thing. The bow thrusters were still spinning.

"T-They're still moving," said Kyo, pulling away from the tube, as sparks flew behind him.

"What?" asked Ren, also pulling away "how can that be? That sign said they'd stopped."

"Maybe it's meaning they _will_ stop," said Tohru "for all we know, that sign could've only just appeared."

"Or," came Yuki's voice, sounding grave and harsh "maybe it meant about something else..."

"You've got a point," said Haru "none of us know about ship engineering, that could be for _anything_ in this room."

They looked sombre for a moment. All thinking of a way to escape, as the ship groaned violently and creaked menacingly, as though it knew they wanted to escape.

"We have to find some way to switch them off," came Kyo eventually.

"Yeah, but how?" asked Aya, standing behind Yuki.

"Only one way to find out," said Kyo, and he followed the tube, to where a tightly shut hatch had been placed.

"Isn't it _dangerous_ to have something like that there?" asked Tohru, looking slightly freaked out by its presence. It had never really occurred to her until now, seeing it.

"What?" asked Ren, looking at Tohru "That's our escape, how can you not be _thankful_ it's there?!"

"Hey, hey," said Kyo, looking at Ren "no need to start an argument."

"I'm just saying," said Tohru, cutting through Ren and Kyo's glares to each other "isn't it dangerous to have a hatch on a propeller tube so far below the waterline? Wouldn't it interrupt the ship's overall hull structure?"

"You have a point," said Haru "but that's nothing to discuss now. Let's just focus on getting out of here, and suing the bastards that run this cruise line!"

So Kyo began to work the handle on the hatch. It was no use; the hatch was sealed shut completely. Not even when all of them had had a try at prising open the hatch did it open.

"Well, that answers your question, Tohru," Ren said, shaking his hands "the door is sealed so much it may as well not _be_ there at all!"

Tohru sat on a pipe that ran along the tube. She looked around. The ship shuddered violently, creaking and groaning. She shot up, as they all screamed, and she ran to the hatch, prising it open with all her strength. Kyo helped her as the ship roared around them.  
The water below them bubbled, and began to rise, as pieces of metal around them shook free from their holdings and fell with a splash into the water. Explosions in the previous room shook the ship, the vibrations here were the worst, as this is were they emanated from.

Finally, with all of them pulling at once, did the handle begin to turn, and they kept on going. Screaming encouragement to one another, as the handle finally flew free, and the hatch burst open.  
An explosion so loud ripped open the door behind them, as water began to pour in from it, the only trouble was, the propellers were still turning.

Tohru screamed, as the water reached their heels, still rising fast. Kyo ran away from them, "KYO!" Tohru screamed, as he ran into the water, coming up to his waist, water pouring over him.  
He returned with a gas canister of some kind, and he took of the lid, and threw it into the tube, throwing himself on top of Tohru, and everyone ducked for cover, as the gas canister was sucked into one of the propellers.

A loud explosion rang through the tube, as flames licked through the hatch. The screamed, as the water continued to rise quickly. More explosions ran through the vessel, as they clambered through the hatch, to see one of the propellers had been completely destroyed by the explosion, yet, the other continued spinning, blowing them to the other side.

Kyo dragged Tohru to the edge. It was only about a 20foot drop into the water below, and the water was rising fast. They had only just made it. Kyo dragged her over the edge, and found a life raft floating nearby, it had been tethered to the ship; it's cord still leading under the depths to the life boat deck.

Kyo swam as fast as he could, pulling Tohru with him. They reached the raft and clambered aboard. They looked at the ship, as Yuki, and the others were at the edge of the tube, about to jump.  
When suddenly, a thunderous explosion rocked the nights air, and blasted through the propeller tube, flames shot out of it, licking the air around it, surrounding Tohru and Kyo in immense heat, obliterating everything in their path. Everything.  
Pieces of metal and other debris flew around them, as they looked on in horror, as the mighty _Poseidon_ slowly flipped over, revealing the once-glossy and new superstructure, now broken, burnt and crippled.  
The words _Poseidon_ upon the hull shone once more, as the ship finally released the trapped air, and slowly, descended into the ocean's waves.

Tohru stared on, in disbelief. As the bubbles rose to the surface of the water. Debris such as boxes, chairs, towels and other items littered the ocean's surface. All that was left of the once-famous _Poseidon_.

(A/N: Okay, I'm throwing these updates out now, another chapter – done. These past two chapters aren't meant to be long, don't worry. The next (and final) chapters should be a bit longer, anyway, look out for them!)


	18. Floating

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Eighteen  
Floating_

Tohru looked on, as the bubbles slowly stopped, and the ocean became calm once more. Tohru breathed heavily, shaking, tears in her eyes, as she looked on helplessly to the empty miles of ocean around her.

"Wh-Why aren't they surfacing?" she said, sniffling, as tears poured down her cheeks "it shouldn't take them that long to resurface."

Kyo said nothing, as Tohru still continued to stare out. After five minutes, it became evident to Tohru what had happened. Aya, Haru, Yuki and Ren had not made it out. Tohru broke down into more tears. They had been so close, _so close_ to freedom. It was staring them right in the face.

"No.." she sobbed "NO!!" and she hit her fists against the raft's edge "YUKI! AYA! HARU! REN!" she screamed, sobbing wildly.

That was it. Of all the 3000-odd passengers and crew on the _Poseidon_, only she and Kyo seemed to have survived the tragedy. The two of them, out of 3000. It seemed highly unfair. She scanned the surrounding ocean in an attempt to see any form of life, or of rescue. The sea was as desolate and deserted as ever. She turned to look at Kyo.

She gasped at the sight. There was Kyo, lying there, motionless. A piece of jagged metal sticking out from his abdomen. Tohru shook with shock, barely breathing as she stumbled over to Kyo.

"K-Kyo!" she shouted, slipping over to him "Kyo! No! Talk to me, please!" she cried, beginning to slap his face.

'_This isn't happening,'_ she thought to her self _'this is just a dream, it's not real'_Kyo slowly stirred, opening his eyes slowly, as he gasped for breath. He adjusted himself slightly, turning his head slowly to look at Tohru. He smiled bleakly at her, as tears continued to gracefully fall from her eyes.

"Tohru..." he muttered, barely more than a whisper "My sweet Tohru. How long has it been since _you_ last held _me_?"

Tohru still sat there, Kyo in her arms. She said nothing, as Kyo carried on talking.

"Tohru, I love you. I love you so much, sometimes, I don't know how I functioned without you."

"K-Kyo, n-no," she said, gasping for breath as she spoke "t-this is n-not how i-it e-ends. N-not like t-this."

"Tohru," Kyo replied "it doesn't matter, I want to tell you that I love you, more than I can stand. I will miss you, Tohru Honda, always. I never really regretted much in life, but there is one thing. Wanna know what it is?"

"W-What?"

"We never got to make love properly on that God-forsaking ship!"

"K-Kyo!" said Tohru, a slight smile across her face.

"There we go," replied Kyo, holding up his hand to her face "that's the girl I remember. I _do_ regret one thing though. We never _did_ get properly engaged, nor even married. I wanted us to grow old together, Tohru. I wanted to watch our children grow. It seems it won't happen. Take good care of yourself... Tohru.." and with his last ounce of strength, Kyo reached up, and kissed Tohru on the lips, and fell back, his last breath drawn. Tohru stared at him in disbelief, this couldn't be happening.

"K-Kyo?" Tohru muttered "K-Kyo? Please wake up, please! I love you!"

She cradled Kyo in her arms, as she broke down again. Tears streaming down her face once more. This was it. Tohru was the only survivor of the horrific goings-on on the _Poseidon_. She stayed there for about an hour or two, just holding Kyo in her arms, for it would be the last time she ever did.  
During that time, she spoke to him, knowing he could never reply, Tohru told him all the things she was going to do, once she was rescued. She spoke of suing the company, and telling her story to the press, and getting a huge memorial out for the deceased passengers and crew. She was also going to mention how she would say how a group of about ten people helped her survive this horrible ordeal, and the biggest thank you would be to Kyo, who had taken charge in a situation that many could not have faced alone.

The sun had finally begun to rise over the water's edge, and a pink horizon shone over Tohru and her deceased beloved. Who knew that little more than twelve hours ago, they were toasting to a new adventure on their world cruise. It seemed like such a senseless waste of human life, how many hadn't even survived the capsizing of the ship, and how many had died along their way to finding an escape out of the bowels of the ship. It seemed pointless to call for any kind of help.  
After the time passed, Tohru thought it decent to give Kyo a burial at sea, although he had always detested it, she thought it's be nice for him to lie at rest with the rest of his family. She lifted him gently to the side of the raft, blood smeared all over her battle-worn dress, and the side of the raft. She nudged him gently into the sea, as he splashed, slowly sinking beneath the depths.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven," began Tohru "please watch over the spirits of the fallen people of the _Poseidon_. Take good care them, Lord, and give them life-long riches now that they have joined you in Heaven. Amen." and she gave the sign for the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, as she once more sniffled, and scanned the horizon for any form of life. Now that the sun was beginning to rise, surely she'd be able to see further? She couldn't see anything at all, as the wind began to pick up, and the sea became slightly choppy.

Tears filled her eyes once more, as she wiped them away with her arm. She moved about on the raft, and found an emergency supply box, containing a flare gun, some water and food.  
She pulled out a blanket from the box, and wrapped herself in it, shuddering slightly, her teeth slightly chattering. It was then it caught her eye, and her interest.  
She slowly got the flare gun out, and saw it was loaded with one bullet, and three spare. She looked at it meaningfully, closing her eyes, sobbing, as she raised it to her temple. And shot it, a loud, banging echo roaring around the calm ocean.

(A/N: Okay, final two chapters are coming up now, don't be angry, they're being uploaded VERY quickly tonight. Enjoy the quick wait for the penultimate chapter!)


	19. Endless Ocean

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Nineteen  
Endless Ocean_

The flare exploded above her head, and shone a bright red, piercing even the sun's rays with light. Tohru held a hand to her forehead, as she loaded the next flare into the gun.  
What was there to do now? Tohru sniffled slightly, still reflecting on the past however many hours it was since she'd had to begin escaping the ship.  
Why did she have to be the only one left? Why did the _Poseidon_ take so many innocent lives with it?  
Questions buzzed around Tohru's mind, as she thought when the last time she had slept was. It must have been about 20-odd hours ago, as she remembered getting up early that morning to go jogging on the deck... Her eyelids were getting heavy now... She also remembered dancing, and begging Kyo to dance with her... She yawned loudly... Oh, and how _vividly_ she could still remember the capsizing... Boy, she felt very tired, as she lay on her side, blanket still over her... She also had a photographic memory of seeing every person she loved around her, dying... All... Dead...

She awoke with a start. Nothing was around her, still the miles of ocean. The only thing that had changed was the sun's position, which hadn't really risen much. Tohru had wished she had worn that beautiful watch Kyo had given her for her birthday the previous year. It was _so_ beautiful, and she cherished it so...

She opened up a bottle of water, and guzzled most of it down in one, and there was a sandwich made up. It didn't look too edible, but Tohru was too hungry to care. She had grabbed all the other blankets from the raft, and created a fort of some kind, which she kept constantly around her, to stop herself freezing. She enjoyed the sandwich, it was slightly stale, but she'd eat anything at the moment. She sat there in contemplation once again for several hours. How long had she been drifting like this now? One, maybe two days?

She began to mutter to herself, just to keep herself sane. She dreamed of being back home in Tokyo, and relaxing by the roaring fire, wrapped in Kyo's arms, Yuki reading a book, and Shigure engrossed in his notes.  
How she longed for that back. How she had taken it all for granted.  
She then came back to when Kyo had first shown her the tickets for the cruise, and Tohru had blatantly said no.

"It wasn't my fault..." she muttered to herself, her voice slightly croaking "it wasn't my fault. I said no to getting the tickets, yet the forced them onto me! I had said NO! Yet they still made me come on this CRUISE!!! DAMN YOU, OH, MIGHTY _POSEIDON!_" she bellowed.

She quickly stopped, as she realised she was stood up, arms in the air, shouting to no one. She quickly sat back down and become poised once again. She cleared her throat. In the box, she had found a pack of cards.

"What in the-?" she had thought, as the cards rolled onto the raft's rubbery floor.

She picked them up, and began to play a card game, first it was Pyramid, then Clock, then Solitaire. The hours seemed to fly by. This was the most fun Tohru had had in a long time... Or so it seemed now.

She was shuffling them, when they slipped out of her hands, and flew around the raft. Tohru's hands dropped by her sides, as she began to chuckle. Then suddenly, she burst out laughing wildly.

"The cards!" she guffawed "They _flew_ around the raft!" and she laughed hysterically.

She laughed so hard she began to stamp her feet and hands on the raft. She was beginning to crack. She needed help soon. Otherwise, she'd die out here, that's not what she had promised Kyo, or anyone else, for that matter.  
But then again, they'd all said they'd make it out alive, and hadn't.

Tohru slumped in the blankets, as she began to pick up the playing cards. She checked the back of one, each one had the _Poseidon_ on the back, sailing into a sunset; the same as the picture hung above Tohru and Kyo's bed.

The sun had risen over Tohru, and was beginning to slowly settle over the other side, in the West. Night was approaching again, and Tohru was beginning to feel hungry. Her stomach rumbled as she reached for the food supply. She pulled out the last sandwich. She was also down to her last bottle of water.  
She needed to conserve these as much as possible now, who knows when she'd be rescued.  
So, she took a mouthful of the sandwich, and a swig of the water.

It was then, she knew, she'd be drifting for quite a while in the cold, desolate ocean around her, and she had made peace with that, as she continued to drift into the unknown...

(A/N: Okay, final chapter next, omigod! It's ending!!!! I can't believe it. Anyway, hope you've enjoyed it so far. The next chapter is more of an epilogue than anything, but anyway, enjoy it all the same – it will be updated tomorrow more than likely. Trust me, it'll be longer than this, and wrap up the story – look out for it!)


	20. Epilogue

Summary: Tohru receives tickets for the luxury cruise upon the _Poseidon_ for her birthday, along with 9 other people from the Sohma family. Midway through the cruise, the ship is fatally struck by a rogue wave, and is capsized. Now Tohru must find out where everyone else is and escape the bowels of the ship before it slips under the ocean's waves. But not everyone can survive fate. . .

_Poseidon  
Chapter Twenty  
Epilogue_

In the middle of the downtown Tokyo district, a man walked into his local newsagent. He was in a charcoal suit, and had a cup of coffee in his hand. He picked up the paper on the counter.

"Mornin' Kito," he mumbled, picking up the paper, a bold, black headline stood out from the front page. _**"POSEIDON PERISHES DURING CRUISE. OVER 3000 DEAD**_"

"Wow," the man said, sipping his coffee "awful, absolutely awful, isn't it?"

"Yes," replied Kito, his bushy white eyebrows raised, almost shocked "They've done a search of the area, to see if anyone survived the sinking."

"And did they?" the man asked, inquisitively, taking another sip of his coffee.

"What do I look like?" asked Kito, almost spitting with surprise "A newsreader?! Read the paper yourself to see!"

"Fine," replied the man, folding the paper under his arm "But this one's on the house." he added, a smirk on his face, as Kito chuckled heartily as the man left the newsagents, reading the paper. On the front page was a large picture of the _Poseidon_ at the top of the article, and nearer the bottom was one of the accident-site, where a field of debris was scattered far and wide. The man read the article:

**POSEIDON**_** PERISHES DURING CRUISE. OVER 3000 DEAD.  
**  
In an awful discovery was made last night, as the luxury cruise-liner _Poseidon_ was struck by a rogue wave during the early hours of Monday morning and capsized, taking with it the lives of over 3000 passengers and crew._

"It's been an awful shock to us," said Poseidon_ designer Thomas Whently "The _Poseidon_ was built to withstand such an event, it seems we have miscalculated and the ship capsized."_

It was discovered that something was wrong when the ship failed to turn up in one of it's ports of call after Japan; Australia. It was then radio contact was tried to be established between any nearby port and the ship. When no reply was given, a search-and-rescue team was sent out immediately.

"The ship was supposed to have been built so that if such an event happened that did, an emergency GPS beacon would be sent out," proclaimed cruise line owner Preston Lee.  
It turned out no message of distress was ever picked up by any ship or port within a 500-mile radius of the site.

The ship was struck by a wave of over 150ft, which engulfed the ship and forced her over herself. Rescue teams found the remains of the Poseidon_, which were shocking to discover, as no bodies at all were found near the site. Bits of debris were scattered around a two-mile stretch of the accident-site._

It it not yet known what actually happened to the ship after it was capsized. All that information must be laid out and re-told by the only living survivor of this horrific story, Tohru Honda, aged 19.

She was discovered floating on a raft by the Poseidon_'s sister ship, the _Aquarius_. Miss Honda was then pulled on board, where she had been starved for several days, and extremely dehydrated._

"We were doing a routine maintenance check on the Aquarius'_ forward decks when the First Mate saw something on the ocean," said _Aquarius_ captain John Freedman "it was so bizarre to see her, bobbing on the ocean like that. Never in my 15 years of being captain has this happened before.  
"We pulled her aboard, and took her immediately the hospital bay. We also pulled the raft aboard. We were disturbed to see blood had been splattered not only all over the girl, but also the raft. It wasn't until we noticed to raft read _MS Poseidon_ did we know something was wrong."_

A truly tragic end to what should have been an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience for all on board. Most people were attending the ballroom dance when the wave struck. Divers are now currently going down to the ship using submersibles, they will take a mobile camera and a forensics crew as well, in order to search the wreck and see, forensically what happened to the ship after it capsized.  
The only true known information about the ship we can currently give, is that the ship more than likely lasted only about 5 or 6 hours after being capsized, before she sank completely.

However, what really happened is still a mystery now, as young Tohru is currently comatose in Tokyo City Hospital. Only then after comments and the true story from Miss Honda will the world know what truly happened on that fateful voyage, and how the Poseidon_ sank, taking over 3000 lives with her._

We will give you more on this story as it develops."

The man tutted as he finished reading the article and walked into an office block, throwing his coffee cup into a nearby bin, and folding the newspaper under his arm.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo City Hospital, in room 178B, Tohru Honda opened her eyes for the first time in 5 days, the final moment's of _Poseidon_ flashing before her eyes in a haze. She was ready to tell the world about what truly happened aboard the _Poseidon_...

(A/N: Okay! Here were are! _Poseidon_, all finished! It's been a great story, and I hope each of you has enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it! It's been a whirlwind of an adventure, and despite a bit of writer's block, I think I overcame that and made a decent story! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and that I can happily say _Poseidon_ is now complete! Goodbye for now!)


End file.
